SEC Hacker Sentenced: 14 Months for Crypto Pump-and-Dump Scheme

A SIM-swapping hacker has been sentenced to 14 months in prison for orchestrating a fraudulent scheme that artificially inflated Bitcoin prices. Eric D. Council, from Athens, Alabama, exploited the SEC’s official X account in January 2024 by gaining access using stolen personal information and then forging a fake ID to obtain a new SIM card and bypass two-factor authentication (2FA). This allowed him to falsely announce the approval of Bitcoin ETFs, leading to a significant price spike. After the fraudulent announcement was exposed, the crypto market experienced a drop.