Office of Public Affairs Alabama Man Sentenced to 14 Months in Connection with Securities and Exchange Commission X Hack that Spiked Bitcoin Prices United States Department of Justice
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ppArchived NewsppWASHINGTON An Alabama man was sentenced today to 14 months in prison and three years of supervised release for his role in the unauthorized takeover of the US Securities and Exchange Commissions SEC social media account on X formerly known as TwitterppEric Council Jr 26 of Huntsville pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud in February According to court documents Council conspired with others to take control of the SECs X account and falsely announce that the SEC approved Bitcoin BTC Exchange Traded Funds ETFs a decision highly anticipated by the market Immediately following the false announcement the price of BTC increased by more than 1000 per BTC Following the correction the value of BTC decreased by more than 2000 per BTCppThe conspirators gained control of the SECs X account through an unauthorized Subscriber Identity Module SIM swap carried out by Council A SIM swap is a form of sophisticated fraud where a criminal actor fraudulently induces a cellular phone carrier to reassign a cellular phone number from a victims SIM card to a SIM card controlled by the criminal actor in order to access a victims social media or virtual currency accounts As part of the scheme Council used an identification card printer to create a fraudulent identification card with a victims personally identifiable information obtained from coconspirators Council used the identification card to impersonate the victim and gain access to the victims phone number for the purpose of accessing the SECs X account Councils coconspirators then posted in the name of the SEC Chairman falsely announcing the BTC ETF approval Council received payment in BTC from coconspirators for his roleppCouncil and his coconspirators used sophisticated cyber means to compromise the SECs X account and posted a false announcement that distorted important financial markets said Matthew R Galeotti Head of the Justice Departments Criminal Division Prosecuting those who seek to enrich themselves by threatening the integrity of digital assets through fraud is critical to protecting US interests The Department of Justice is committed to holding accountable individuals who commit cyber fraud and harm investorsppSchemes of this nature threaten the health and integrity of our market system said US Attorney Jeanine Pirro for the District of Columbia SIM swap schemes threaten the financial security of average citizens financial institutions and government agencies Dont fool yourself into thinking you cant be caught You will be caught prosecuted and will pay the price for the damage your actions createppThe deliberate takeover of a federal agencys official communications platform was a calculated criminal act meant to deceive the public and manipulate financial markets said FBI Criminal Investigative Division Acting Assistant Director Darren Cox By spreading false information to influence the markets Council attempted to erode public trust and exploit the financial system Todays sentencing makes clear that anyone who abuses public platforms for criminal gain will be held accountableppTodays sentencing exemplifies SEC OIGs commitment to holding bad actors accountable and maintaining the integrity of SEC programs and operations through thorough investigative oversight said Securities and Exchange Commission Office of Inspector General Special Agent in Charge Amanda James We are committed to working with the SEC and other law enforcement partners to help the SEC effectively and efficiently deliver on its critical missionppThe FBI Washington Field Office and SEC Office of Inspector General investigated the caseppTrial Attorney Ashley Pungello of the Criminal Divisions Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section Trial Attorney Lauren Archer of the Criminal Divisions Fraud Section and Assistant US Attorney Kevin Rosenberg for the District of Columbia are prosecuting the case Substantial assistance was provided by Cyber Fellow Paul M Zebb IIIppFor more information on SIM swapping and how to prevent it visit wwwic3govPSA2024PSA240411ppFive men have pleaded guilty for their roles in laundering more than 369 million from victims of an international digital asset investment scam conspiracy that was carried out from scamppThe Department of Justice filed a civil forfeiture complaint today in the US District Court for the District of Columbia alleging that North Korean information technology IT workers obtained illegalppA federal indictment unsealed today charges Rustam Rafailevich Gallyamov 48 of Moscow Russia with leading a group of cyber criminals who developed and deployed the Qakbot malware In connection withppOffice of Public AffairsUS Department of Justice950 Pennsylvania Avenue NWWashington DC 20530ppOffice of Public Affairs Direct Line2025142007ppDepartment of Justice Main Switchboard2025142000ppSignup for Email UpdatesSocial MediappppHave a question about Government Servicesp
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ppArchived NewsppWASHINGTON An Alabama man was sentenced today to 14 months in prison and three years of supervised release for his role in the unauthorized takeover of the US Securities and Exchange Commissions SEC social media account on X formerly known as TwitterppEric Council Jr 26 of Huntsville pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud in February According to court documents Council conspired with others to take control of the SECs X account and falsely announce that the SEC approved Bitcoin BTC Exchange Traded Funds ETFs a decision highly anticipated by the market Immediately following the false announcement the price of BTC increased by more than 1000 per BTC Following the correction the value of BTC decreased by more than 2000 per BTCppThe conspirators gained control of the SECs X account through an unauthorized Subscriber Identity Module SIM swap carried out by Council A SIM swap is a form of sophisticated fraud where a criminal actor fraudulently induces a cellular phone carrier to reassign a cellular phone number from a victims SIM card to a SIM card controlled by the criminal actor in order to access a victims social media or virtual currency accounts As part of the scheme Council used an identification card printer to create a fraudulent identification card with a victims personally identifiable information obtained from coconspirators Council used the identification card to impersonate the victim and gain access to the victims phone number for the purpose of accessing the SECs X account Councils coconspirators then posted in the name of the SEC Chairman falsely announcing the BTC ETF approval Council received payment in BTC from coconspirators for his roleppCouncil and his coconspirators used sophisticated cyber means to compromise the SECs X account and posted a false announcement that distorted important financial markets said Matthew R Galeotti Head of the Justice Departments Criminal Division Prosecuting those who seek to enrich themselves by threatening the integrity of digital assets through fraud is critical to protecting US interests The Department of Justice is committed to holding accountable individuals who commit cyber fraud and harm investorsppSchemes of this nature threaten the health and integrity of our market system said US Attorney Jeanine Pirro for the District of Columbia SIM swap schemes threaten the financial security of average citizens financial institutions and government agencies Dont fool yourself into thinking you cant be caught You will be caught prosecuted and will pay the price for the damage your actions createppThe deliberate takeover of a federal agencys official communications platform was a calculated criminal act meant to deceive the public and manipulate financial markets said FBI Criminal Investigative Division Acting Assistant Director Darren Cox By spreading false information to influence the markets Council attempted to erode public trust and exploit the financial system Todays sentencing makes clear that anyone who abuses public platforms for criminal gain will be held accountableppTodays sentencing exemplifies SEC OIGs commitment to holding bad actors accountable and maintaining the integrity of SEC programs and operations through thorough investigative oversight said Securities and Exchange Commission Office of Inspector General Special Agent in Charge Amanda James We are committed to working with the SEC and other law enforcement partners to help the SEC effectively and efficiently deliver on its critical missionppThe FBI Washington Field Office and SEC Office of Inspector General investigated the caseppTrial Attorney Ashley Pungello of the Criminal Divisions Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section Trial Attorney Lauren Archer of the Criminal Divisions Fraud Section and Assistant US Attorney Kevin Rosenberg for the District of Columbia are prosecuting the case Substantial assistance was provided by Cyber Fellow Paul M Zebb IIIppFor more information on SIM swapping and how to prevent it visit wwwic3govPSA2024PSA240411ppFive men have pleaded guilty for their roles in laundering more than 369 million from victims of an international digital asset investment scam conspiracy that was carried out from scamppThe Department of Justice filed a civil forfeiture complaint today in the US District Court for the District of Columbia alleging that North Korean information technology IT workers obtained illegalppA federal indictment unsealed today charges Rustam Rafailevich Gallyamov 48 of Moscow Russia with leading a group of cyber criminals who developed and deployed the Qakbot malware In connection withppOffice of Public AffairsUS Department of Justice950 Pennsylvania Avenue NWWashington DC 20530ppOffice of Public Affairs Direct Line2025142007ppDepartment of Justice Main Switchboard2025142000ppSignup for Email UpdatesSocial MediappppHave a question about Government Servicesp
