Protection legal professionals have requested a decide to condemn the particular person liable for serving to put up a pretend message asserting regulatory approval of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds to roughly a 12 months in jail, countering prosecutors’ request for a two-year sentence.
In a Might 13 submitting within the US District Courtroom for the District of Columbia, Eric Council Jr.’s authorized crew requested that he be sentenced to no a couple of 12 months and sooner or later in jail following his responsible plea.
Council was a part of a gaggle 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 steered the regulator had accredited 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 Might 13 submitting. “It sufficiently punishes the defendant for his position 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 gadget fraud. The decide overseeing the case, Amy Berman Jackson, additionally ordered prosecutors to “determine the felony and level to the place that data could be discovered within the file” by Might 13.
Jail sentence between 1 and a pair of years?
The SEC hacker is scheduled to be sentenced on Might 16. Prosecutors requested the decide to impose a two-year sentence on Council, saying he “profited by a classy fraud scheme.” Courtroom filings showed he earned roughly $50,000 by 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 below new management, doubtlessly affecting the prosecution of crypto-related instances. On Might 8, US President Donald Trump introduced that Fox Information host Jeanine Pirro would turn out to be the interim US lawyer for the District of Columbia.
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