BreachForums founder to be resentenced after court vacates previous punishment | CyberScoop<\/title> <meta name=\"description\" content=\"A U.S. appeals court has vacated the sentence given to Conor Fitzpatrick, who pleaded guilty in 2023 for work as founder of BreachForums.\"> <link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/conor-fitzpatrick-resentenced-pompompurin-breachforums\/\"> <meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\"> <meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\"> <meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BreachForums founder to be resentenced after court vacates previous punishment\"> <meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A U.S. appeals court has vacated the sentence given to Conor Fitzpatrick, who pleaded guilty in 2023 for work as founder of BreachForums.\"> <meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/conor-fitzpatrick-resentenced-pompompurin-breachforums\/\"> <meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CyberScoop\"> <meta 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class=\"single-article__header-content\" readability=\"34.5\">\n<p> Conor Fitzpatrick was initially sentenced to 20 years of supervised release following a guilty plea in July 2023. <\/p>\n<p>  <br \/>\n<audio id=\"audio-player\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-tts-cdn.api.scpnewsgrp.com\/cyberscoop\/83224\/english.openai.mp3\"><\/audio> <\/p>\n<div readability=\"11\">\n<div>\n<p>Listen to this article<\/p>\n<p>  <\/p>\n<p>0:00<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>  <\/p>\n<p> <span id=\"tts-tooltip\">Learn more.<\/span> <span> This feature uses an automated voice, which may result in occasional errors in pronunciation, tone, or sentiment. <\/span> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>  <\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__cover-wrap\">\n<figure class=\"single-article__cover\"> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" width=\"640\" height=\"339\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/breachforums-founder-to-be-resentenced-after-court-vacates-previous-punishment.png?resize=640%2C339&ssl=1\" class=\"single-article__cover-image wp-post-image\" alt decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/breachforums-founder-to-be-resentenced-after-court-vacates-previous-punishment-1.png 1920w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/breachforums-founder-to-be-resentenced-after-court-vacates-previous-punishment-1.png?resize=300,159 300w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/breachforums-founder-to-be-resentenced-after-court-vacates-previous-punishment-1.png?resize=768,406 768w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/breachforums-founder-to-be-resentenced-after-court-vacates-previous-punishment-1.png?resize=1024,542 1024w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/breachforums-founder-to-be-resentenced-after-court-vacates-previous-punishment-1.png?resize=1536,813 1536w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/breachforums-founder-to-be-resentenced-after-court-vacates-previous-punishment-1.png?resize=600,318 600w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/breachforums-founder-to-be-resentenced-after-court-vacates-previous-punishment-1.png?resize=1200,635 1200w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/breachforums-founder-to-be-resentenced-after-court-vacates-previous-punishment-1.png?resize=1500,794 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"><figcaption> Law enforcement seizure notice posted to the BreachForums website Wednesday, May 15, 2024. (CyberScoop) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"single-article__content\">\n<div class=\"single-article__content-inner has-drop-cap\"> <html readability=\"32.239162059936\"><body readability=\"64.975677553857\"><\/p>\n<p>A U.S. appeals court has vacated the initial sentence given to Conor Brian Fitzpatrick, who pleaded guilty in 2023 for charges related to his work as founder of the notorious BreachForums website. The appeal, filed by the U.S. government, signals that a new sentence could be much more harsh than the one initially issued last year. <\/p>\n<p>Fitzpatrick, operating under the pseudonym \u201cPompompurin,\u201d became a notable figure in the cybercriminal underworld after launching BreachForums in March 2022. Under Fitzpatrick\u2019s oversight, BreachForums amassed over 14 billion individual records, allowing users to sell Social Security numbers, bank details, and other sensitive information, making it the largest English-language cybercrime marketplace to date.<\/p>\n<p>Fitzpatrick pleaded guilty on July 13, 2023, to conspiracy to commit access device fraud, solicitation for the purpose of offering access devices, and possession of child pornography, according to court records. Prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia sought to imprison Fitzpatrick for nearly 16 years, <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/jailed-breachforums-creator-admin-sentenced-to-20-years-of-supervised-release\/\">but the courts ultimately decided<\/a> on time served plus 20 years of supervised release. <\/p>\n<p>A document filed in court Tuesday found the court chose a lenient sentence, citing a diagnosis of autism and Fitzpatrick\u2019s age as mitigating circumstances. Yet, even while he was going through the legal process, he violated the court\u2019s terms by accessing the internet through a virtual private network and engaging in online chatrooms through the messaging platform Discord. In these chatrooms, he asserted his innocence regarding the crimes he had confessed to in court, labeling his plea deal as \u201cso BS\u201d and expressing regret that he did not contest the charges. He further made light of selling data to foreign nations, encouraging a user to \u201cbecome a foreign asset to China or Russia\u201d and to \u201csell government secrets.\u201d <\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The government later appealed the sentence, which was vacated Tuesday. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot only did Fitzpatrick commit serious offenses, but he also showed a lack of remorse, joking about committing additional crimes even after entering a guilty plea,\u201d Judge Paul V. Niemeyer wrote in the opinion that vacated Fitzpatrick\u2019s sentence. \u201cYet, despite Fitzpatrick\u2019s conduct, the district court never addressed the seriousness of his crimes or explained how its sentence fulfilled\u201d the law. <\/p>\n<p>It is unknown exactly when the resentencing will take place, but it is very likely Fitzpatrick will face a harsher sentence than the one initially given. <\/p>\n<p>Fitzpatrick\u2019s lawyers did not respond to CyberScoop\u2019s request for comment. <\/p>\n<p>Since Fitzpatrick\u2019s arrest, <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/breachforums-a-key-english-language-cybercrime-forum-seized-by-the-fbi\/\">law enforcement has attempted to remove BreachForums<\/a> from the internet, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.malwarebytes.com\/blog\/news\/2024\/05\/data-leak-site-breachforums-is-back-boasting-live-nation-ticketmaster-user-data-but-is-it-a-trap\">only to see copycats return<\/a> in the wake of each takedown. <\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>You can read the full appellate court ruling below. <\/p>\n<p> <\/body> <\/p>\n<footer class=\"single-article__footer\" readability=\"4.0967741935484\">\n<div class=\"author-card\" readability=\"14\">\n<div class=\"author-card__avatar\">\n<figure class=\"author-card__image-wrap\"> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"author-card__image\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/breachforums-founder-to-be-resentenced-after-court-vacates-previous-punishment.jpg?w=640&ssl=1\" alt=\"Greg Otto\"> <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><h4 class=\"author-card__name\">Written by Greg Otto<\/h4>\n<p> Greg Otto is Editor-in-Chief of CyberScoop, overseeing all editorial content for the website. Greg has led cybersecurity coverage that has won various awards, including accolades from the Society of Professional Journalists and the American Society of Business Publication Editors. Prior to joining Scoop News Group, Greg worked for the Washington Business Journal, U.S. News & World Report and WTOP Radio. 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{"id":7027,"date":"2025-01-22T14:56:53","date_gmt":"2025-01-22T20:56:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/?p=83224"},"modified":"2025-01-22T14:56:53","modified_gmt":"2025-01-22T20:56:53","slug":"breachforums-founder-to-be-resentenced-after-court-vacates-previous-punishment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/2025\/01\/22\/breachforums-founder-to-be-resentenced-after-court-vacates-previous-punishment\/","title":{"rendered":"BreachForums founder to be resentenced after court vacates previous punishment"},"content":{"rendered":"