Council is currently charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud. There’s no word yet on whether or not he found the information he was looking for during another internet search cited in the FBI’s indictment: “Federal identity theft statute.”

On October 17, 2024, the FBI arrested 25-year-old Eric Council Jr. of Athens, Alabama, in connection with the January 9 hack of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s X (formerly Twitter) account. The incident, which briefly sent Bitcoin prices soaring, has led to charges of conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud.

According to court documents, Eric Council Jr went under the aliases Ronin, Easymunny, and AGiantSchnauzer online, and searched "SECGOV hack" and "Telegram sim swap". He is also alleged to have searched "federal identity theft statute" and "how long does it take to delete Telegram account".