Alabama Man Sentenced for SEC Twitter Hack That Briefly Spiked Bitcoin Price

A federal judge sentenced Eric Council Jr., an Alabama resident, to 14 months in prison for his role in the January 2024 hack of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) X social media account. The hack triggered a brief surge in bitcoin’s price by over $1,000 through a false tweet.

Council pleaded guilty three months earlier in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., admitting to conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud. His involvement centered on assisting others who took control of the SEC’s official X account.

The hacked SEC X account falsely tweeted that the commission had officially approved bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), causing a short-lived price spike. However, the SEC swiftly regained control, clarifying the message was false, and bitcoin’s price subsequently dropped by more than $2,000.

Ironically, the day after the hack, the SEC announced rule changes enabling the creation of bitcoin ETFs. Despite this, the false tweet from the hacked account misled investors and disrupted market stability at the time.

Prosecutors had sought a 24-month prison term, but Council received a sentence 10 months shorter. Prosecutors also noted a hacker group later posted a video “purportedly” featuring Council acknowledging his role but blaming the SEC’s cybersecurity practices for the breach.

In the video, Council claimed the hack was an “inside job” caused by the SEC’s lax security and disparaged officials, referencing an “85-year-old with dementia.” He concluded with an animated segment minimizing his and conspirators’ responsibility for the attack.

Council’s defense lawyer, Dwight Crawley, requested a 12-month-and-one-day sentence, citing Council’s lack of prior offenses and his admitted daily marijuana use before arrest, which he said helped with mental health struggles. Crawley declined to comment on the controversial video.

The hack involved a SIM swap attack on a person linked to the SEC’s X account. Council obtained the victim’s phone number by forging an ID using a portable printer, then convinced an AT&T employee to reassign the number to his control.

After gaining phone access, Council’s co-conspirators posted the fraudulent tweet impersonating the SEC Chairman. Council, known online as “Ronin” and other aliases, was paid approximately $50,000 in bitcoin for his role. Law enforcement seized fake IDs and digital evidence linking him to the hack.