Former BreachForums administrator sentenced to 15 years in prison
Conor Fitzpatrick, a 21-year-old New York resident known online as “Pompompurin,” previously the administrator of the BreachForums, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Fitzpatrick was arrested by the FBI in March 2023 on charges of conspiring to traffic unauthorized access devices. Last Tuesday, January 16th, the court issued its verdict, finding Fitzpatrick guilty of conspiring to commit fraud with access devices, solicitation to offer such devices, and possession of child pornography.
The prosecution recommended a 15-year imprisonment sentence to the court, describing it as “sufficient but not excessive,” reflecting the gravity of Fitzpatrick’s crimes, the harm he caused, the risk of recidivism, and the deterrence of similar cybercrimes in the future.
Earlier this month, Fitzpatrick, while under house arrest, violated his bail conditions by using a computer without court-mandated monitoring software. Consequently, on January 2nd, FBI agents rearrested Pompompurin, who had previously been released on a $300,000 bail.
The now-defunct BreachForums was considered a reincarnation of another cybercriminal forum, RaidForums, which was also seized by the FBI in August 2022. On BreachForums, cybercriminals exchanged data stolen from companies and other organizations.
For instance, it was on this platform that confidential information from the DC Health Link medical insurance company was published, including the personal data of members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate.
Throughout its existence, BreachForums hosted numerous data leaks from various companies. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, at the time of its closure, BreachForums had over 340,000 active users.
Now, with Fitzpatrick receiving such a severe sentence, the future of resources similar to BreachForums appears quite bleak. The U.S. authorities are determined to curb cybercrime, regardless of the scale of the forums or the number of participants involved.
