Former BreachForums Administrator Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison

Connor Brian Fitzpatrick, a 21-year-old resident of New York State known online as “Pompompurin,” who previously managed the BreachForums website, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison. Fitzpatrick was arrested by the FBI in March 2023 on charges of “conspiracy to sell unauthorized access devices.” On Tuesday, January 16, the court delivered its verdict, finding Fitzpatrick guilty of conspiracy to commit access device fraud, solicitation to offer such devices, and possession of child pornography.

The prosecution recommended a 15-year prison term, calling it “sufficient but not excessive” to reflect the seriousness of Fitzpatrick’s crimes, the harm he caused, the risk of repeat offenses, and to deter similar cybercrimes in the future.

Earlier this month, while under house arrest, Fitzpatrick violated his bail conditions by using a computer without the court-mandated monitoring software. As a result, on January 2, FBI agents re-arrested Pompompurin, who had previously been released on $300,000 bail.

Background on BreachForums and Its Impact

The now-defunct BreachForums was considered a successor to another cybercrime forum, RaidForums, which was also seized by the FBI in August 2022. On BreachForums, cybercriminals exchanged data stolen from companies and other organizations.

For example, confidential information from the health insurance company DC Health Link, including personal data of members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, was once published there. Over its existence, BreachForums hosted numerous data leaks from a wide range of companies. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, at the time of its shutdown, BreachForums had over 340,000 active users.

Now that Fitzpatrick has received such a severe sentence, the future of platforms like BreachForums appears uncertain. It is clear that U.S. authorities are determined to crack down on cybercrime, regardless of the scale of the forums or the number of participants.