In January, Bitcoin price experienced a temporary spike following a fake online post from the Securities and Exchange Commission. Now an Alabama man has been arrested for his role in that office. The AP reports that Athens resident Eric Council Jr., 25, was taken into custody Thursday for allegedly helping the core group of hackers infiltrate the SEC account on X so they could make a false statement about the could make alleged release of Bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds or ETFs. “The SEC grants #Bitcoin ETFs approval to list on all registered national securities exchanges,” reads the fake Jan. 9 post, which inflated the price of Bitcoin by more than $1,000, according to a Justice Department press release quickened.

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler noted shortly afterwards: “The SEC has not approved the listing or trading of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded products.” The agency ultimately approved the Bitcoin ETFs, but only a day after the hackers’ post. The press release said the council allegedly used a “SIM swap” to help the hackers carry out their plan. According to the Justice Department, he used a fake ID at a mobile phone company’s store in Huntsville to pretend he had access to the SEC’s X account. The council allegedly bought a new iPhone in cash and then asked the store employee to give him a SIM card for the rightful owner’s phone. Authorities say he then used that SIM card in his new iPhone to hijack the real account holder’s information so he could obtain the access codes to the SEC Twitter account.

The council then allegedly passed these codes on to its hacking partners, who in turn broke into the SEC account and created the fake post. The price of Bitcoin fell by $2,000 after the hackers’ post was revealed to be a work of fiction. The BBC notes that Council appeared to be self-aware enough to realize he might be in trouble: After returning the iPhone he had bought, Council did some internet research, including: “How can I “Know for sure if I am under investigation 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 the DOJ. The council is accused of conspiracy to commit aggravated identity theft and access device fraud. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison. (More hacker stories.)