Protection legal professionals have requested a decide to condemn the individual chargeable for serving to publish a faux message saying regulatory approval of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds to roughly a 12 months in jail, countering prosecutors’ request for a two-year sentence.
In a Could 13 submitting within the US District Courtroom for the District of Columbia, Eric Council Jr.’s authorized workforce requested that he be sentenced to no a couple of 12 months and at some point in jail following his responsible plea.
Council was a part of a gaggle that took management of the US Securities and Trade Fee’s (SEC’s) X account in 2024 by means of a SIM swap assault, posting a message that steered the regulator had accredited spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund listings for the primary time.
“A sentence of twelve months and at some point serves the ends of justice,” mentioned the Could 13 submitting. “It sufficiently punishes the defendant for his function on this case. It additionally promotes respect for the legislation and deters future legal conduct.”
Council initially pleaded not responsible to the costs, however modified his plea to responsible in February on one depend of conspiracy to commit aggravated id theft and entry machine fraud. The decide overseeing the case, Amy Berman Jackson, additionally ordered prosecutors to “establish the felony and level to the place that info may be discovered within the document” by Could 13.
Jail sentence between 1 and a couple of years?
The SEC hacker is scheduled to be sentenced on Could 16. Prosecutors requested the decide to impose a two-year sentence on Council, saying he “profited by means of a complicated fraud scheme.” Courtroom filings showed he earned roughly $50,000 by means of comparable SIM swap assaults.
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Although Council’s case was possible winding down along with his upcoming sentencing listening to, the DC courtroom district may quickly be beneath new management, probably affecting the prosecution of crypto-related instances. On Could 8, US President Donald Trump introduced that Fox Information host Jeanine Pirro would develop into the interim US lawyer for the District of Columbia.
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