Protection attorneys have requested a decide to condemn the particular person answerable for serving to publish a pretend message asserting regulatory approval of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds to roughly a yr 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 staff requested that he be sentenced to no multiple yr and someday in jail following his responsible plea.
Council was a part of a bunch that took management of the US Securities and Alternate Fee’s (SEC’s) X account in 2024 by a SIM swap assault, posting a message that urged the regulator had authorized spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund listings for the primary time.
“A sentence of twelve months and someday serves the ends of justice,” stated the Could 13 submitting. “It sufficiently punishes the defendant for his position on this case. It additionally promotes respect for the regulation and deters future felony conduct.”
Council initially pleaded not responsible to the fees, however modified his plea to responsible in February on one depend of conspiracy to commit aggravated identification theft and entry system fraud. The decide overseeing the case, Amy Berman Jackson, additionally ordered prosecutors to “determine the felony and level to the place that info may be discovered within the file” by Could 13.
Jail sentence between 1 and a pair 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 a complicated fraud scheme.” Courtroom filings showed he earned roughly $50,000 by related SIM swap assaults.
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Although Council’s case was doubtless winding down together with his upcoming sentencing listening to, the DC court docket district may quickly be below new management, probably affecting the prosecution of crypto-related circumstances. 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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