Eric Council Jr., a 26-year-old from Alabama, has been sentenced to 14 months in prison for hacking the SEC's Twitter account and posting a fraudulent Bitcoin ETF approval announcement
A 26-year-old Alabama man, Eric Council Jr., has been sentenced to 14 months in prison for his role in hacking the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Twitter account and posting a fraudulent announcement about Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), causing a temporary $1,000 spike in Bitcoin's price. The sentence, announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, follows Council’s guilty plea in November 2025 to a conspiracy charge.
Council, also known as “Ronin,” “Easymunny,” and “AGiantSchnauzer” online, was a key figure in the January 2024 hack, which unfolded after Council and his co-conspirators began collecting information on an SEC employee who had access to the @SECGov account.
Using a portable ID printer purchased on eBay, Council created a fake driver’s license and impersonated the employee at an AT&T store in Huntsville, Alabama, to obtain a SIM card that was illegally linked to the victim’s phone.
Council later purchased an iPhone at an Apple Store and used it to receive password reset codes for the SEC’s Twitter account, which he shared with his accomplices to post the deceptive tweet. For his role, Council was paid approximately $50,000 in Bitcoin, which he later exchanged for cash.
This case follows another major crypto crime case, where 12 individuals were indicted in a $263 million racketeering scheme involving computer intrusions, physical break-ins, and the theft of cryptocurrency.
The rapid advancement of cybercrime tactics, evident in recent breaches like the Coinbase data theft, where hackers bribed support agents, and the violent kidnappings of crypto millionaires in Europe, underscores the critical need for robust cybersecurity measures, ranging from two-factor authentication to advanced insider threat detection programs.
Council’s sentence is part of a broader effort to combat cryptocurrency fraud, which has become increasingly sophisticated in recent years.
As the use of cryptocurrencies continues to grow, so too does the ingenuity of scammers, posing a significant threat to individuals, institutions, and the broader cryptocurrency market.
