An Athens man has been arrested by federal authorities after they say he helped hack the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) X account, causing the value of bitcoin to soar by $1,000 with a phony tweet.

Eric Council Jr., 25,was arrested this morning in Athens, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office for the District of Columbia.

He has been charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud.

According to the indictment, on Jan. 9, Council conspired with others to take unauthorized control of the @SECGov X account and transmitted a fake post in the name of the SEC Chair.

The post announced, in part, “Today the SEC grants approval for #Bitcoin ETFs for listing on all registered national securities exchanges.” Immediately after the tweet, the price of BTC increased by more than $1,000 per bitcoin.

Shortly after the unauthorized post, the SEC regained control over their X account and confirmed that the announcement was unauthorized and the result of a security breach. Following this corrective disclosure, the value of BTC decreased by more than $2,000 per bitcoin. At the time, the SEC had been deliberating whether to approve exchange traded funds (ETFs) that held bitcoin.

The SEC hack happened through what is called a “SIM swap.”

A Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card is the chip that stores information identifying and authenticating a cell phone subscriber. A SIM swap attack refers to the process of inducing a carrier to reassign a cell phone number from the legitimate user’s SIM card to a SIM card and telephone controlled by someone else.

According to prosecutors, Council – who used online monikers including “Ronin,” “Easymunny,” and “AGiantSchnauzer” – assumed the stolen identity of a person who had access to the SEC account to take over their cellphone number.

After receiving personal identifying information and an identification card template containing a victim’s name and photo from co-conspirators, Council then used his identification card printer to create a fake ID with the information.

He employed this to obtain a SIM card linked to the victim’s phone line by presenting the fake ID at a cell phone provider store in Huntsville.

After buying a new iPhone with cash, he used the two items to obtain access codes to the @SECGov X account. Council shared those codes with members of the conspiracy, who then accessed the account – and issued the fake tweet.

Authorities say Council received BTC payment for performing the successful SIM swap. Shortly after, Council drove to Birmingham, to return the iPhone used in the SIM swap for cash.

According to prosecutors, he feared being found out. He later conducted internet searches for “SECGOV hack,” “telegram sim swap,” “how can I know for sure if I am being investigated by the FBI,” and “What are the signs that you are under investigation by law enforcement or the FBI even if you have not been contacted by them,” according to investigators.

U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves said the indictment shows law enforcement will hold those who manipulate financial markets accountable.

“These SIM swapping schemes, where fraudsters trick service providers into giving them control of unsuspecting victims’ phones, can result in devastating financial losses to victims and leaks of sensitive personal and private information,” Graves said.