SEC Account

Eric Council Jr., a 25-year-old Alabama resident, was arrested Thursday morning in connection with the unauthorized takeover of the Security and Exchange Commission’s X account in January, which sent the value of Bitcoin soaring of $1,000, according to the Department of Justice.

The hack took place on January 9, a day before the SEC’s long-awaited approval of Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds. According to a complaint filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., the hackers used the compromised account to falsely post that the approval had occurred. Shortly after, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler took to his personal account to announce that the claim was false and that the post was “unauthorized.”

“The SEC has not approved the listing and trading of Bitcoin spot exchange-traded products,” Gensler wrote on X.

The fake post was deleted 25 minutes after it was posted, but it was enough to move the market. Immediately, investors rushed to buy Bitcoin, driving the price up $1,000. Once the correction was made, the price dropped by $2,000, according to the indictment.

Council, also known online as “Ronin,” “AGiantSchnauzer” and @Easymunny, is charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud, the U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and others involved in the investigation. The indictment alleges that the Council committed these crimes in order to manipulate the price of Bitcoin.

Council and others, whose identities remain anonymous, allegedly accessed the account through what is known as a “SIM swap,” according to the indictment.

“A SIM swap attack refers to the process of fraudulently tricking an operator into reassigning a mobile phone number from the SIM card of a legitimate subscriber or user to a SIM card and phone controlled by a criminal actor,” the indictment states, explaining that the This trick allows criminals to bypass multi-factor authentication.

Council and his accomplices allegedly stole the identity of a person with access to the account by creating a fraudulent identification document in the victim’s name and taking possession of their cell phone number. The @SECGov X account was linked to this phone number, allowing hackers to access it and post messages.

The Council received a payment in Bitcoin for carrying out the SIM swap. During the ensuing investigation, federal agents discovered that he allegedly used his home computer to search for “SECGOV hack”, “federal identity theft law” and “how do I know with certainty if I am the subject of an FBI investigation.

“In this case, the unauthorized actor allegedly used SIM card swapping to manipulate the global financial market,” FBI Acting Special Agent Geist said in a statement. “The FBI will continue to work tirelessly with its law enforcement partners across the country and around the world to hold those who violate America’s laws accountable.”

If convicted, Council faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com