Protection attorneys have requested a decide to condemn the individual accountable for serving to publish a pretend 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 Court docket for the District of Columbia, Eric Council Jr.’s authorized group requested that he be sentenced to no multiple 12 months and sooner or later 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 via a SIM swap assault, posting a message that prompt the regulator had authorised spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund listings for the primary time.
“A sentence of twelve months and sooner or later 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 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 machine fraud. The decide overseeing the case, Amy Berman Jackson, additionally ordered prosecutors to “determine the felony and level to the place that data may be discovered within the report” 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 via a complicated fraud scheme.” Court docket filings showed he earned roughly $50,000 via related SIM swap assaults.
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Although Council’s case was possible winding down together with his upcoming sentencing listening to, the DC court docket district may quickly be beneath 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 turn out to be the interim US legal professional for the District of Columbia.
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