Federal prosecutors offer plea deals to SEC hackers or pursue co-conspirators

Federal prosecutors in the United States intend to offer a plea deal to Eric Council Jr., an Alabama man suspected of hacking into the Securities Exchange Commission's (SEC) X account, in an attempt to identify his co-conspirator. In January, Council was charged with participating in the hack and publishing false information about the approval of a Bitcoin spot ETF. Council pleaded not guilty in court to identity theft and fraud charges. Prosecutors say Council faked identity cards, using stolen personal information and the assistance of cell phone store employees, to help co-conspirators hack SEC accounts and publish false information.