U.S. prosecutors are urging a federal judge to hand down a two-year prison sentence to Eric Council Jr., the man behind a fake social media post that falsely announced the SEC’s approval of Bitcoin spot ETFs—causing major market ripples just before the real announcement.

According to a May 12 court filing, Council was part of a group that gained unauthorized access to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s official X (formerly Twitter) account through a SIM swap hack. With control of the account, they posted a fraudulent message in January 2024 claiming the SEC had greenlit Bitcoin ETFs. The crypto markets reacted swiftly, with Bitcoin surging over $1,000 before the false post was removed and SEC Chair Gary Gensler publicly debunked it.

Prosecutors say Council’s role in the scheme involved using fake IDs and deceiving telecom providers to gain control of accounts, calling it a “sophisticated fraud” that warrants a “guidelines range” sentence. They argue that his actions had real consequences for both the markets and the SEC’s credibility.

Council pleaded guilty and is set to appear before Judge Amy Berman Jackson on May 16 for sentencing. His legal team has not yet responded to the prosecution's recommendation.

This case comes amid growing scrutiny of crypto crimes and leadership shifts within the U.S. Department of Justice under President Trump. Questions remain about how these changes will influence future prosecutions tied to digital assets, especially with Trump’s known crypto interests. Meanwhile, other high-profile convictions—such as former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky’s 12-year sentence—signal an increasingly tough stance on crypto-related fraud.