"Owner of Cybercrime Website BreachForums Pleads Guilty"

The owner of the infamous cybercrime website BreachForums has recently pleaded guilty in a US court to conspiracy to commit device fraud, access device fraud, and possession of child pornography.  The man, Conor Brian Fitzpatrick, 21, of Peekskill, New York, was arrested on March 15, 2023, being charged with conspiracy to commit access device fraud.  Fitzpatrick, known online as "Pompompurin," has admitted to investigators that he was the owner and administrator of the BreachForums portal.  Also known as Breached, BreachForums was launched in 2022 as an alternative to RaidForums, a cybercrime marketplace that was taken down by law enforcement in February 2022.  According to US law enforcement, BreachForums claimed to have over 340,000 members at the time it was shut down.  The FBI noted that during its year of operation, the website became a top hacker marketplace, facilitating the trading of hacked or stolen data, including bank account information, Social Security numbers, personally identifiable information, hacking tools, online account credentials, and hacking services for hire.  According to the plea agreement, Fitzpatrick faces up to 10 years in prison for conspiracy to commit access device fraud, 10 years in prison for solicitation for the purpose of offering access devices, and up to 20 years in prison for possession of child pornography.  The maximum penalty for each count also includes a fine of $250,000, and supervised release.

SecurityWeek reports: "Owner of Cybercrime Website BreachForums Pleads Guilty"