The United States government has recommended that Conor Brian Fitzpatrick, the creator and lead administrator of the now-defunct BreachForums hacking forums, receive a sentence of 15 years in prison.
BreachForums was a notorious cybercrime forum that gained prominence after the FBI seized RaidForums in 2022.
Fitzpatrick was arrested on March 15, 2023, in his home in New York and charged with one count of conspiracy to solicit individuals to sell unauthorized access devices.
The man immediately admitted his involvement and role in Breach and was released shortly after his arrest on a $300k bond until the court procedures could begin.
Earlier this month, Fitzpatrick was placed in custody again after he broke his release terms by using a virtual private network tool to access the internet on an unmonitored computer.
The defendant's final sentence is scheduled for Friday, January 19, 2024, and the U.S. government has already sent its proposal for the court's consideration.
In addition to being the admin of BreachForums, the U.S. government says Fitzpatrick acted as a middleman for the sale of stolen data between other users of the site, encouraging threat actors to leak samples of stolen data.
In addition to Fitzpatrick's online cybercrime activities, the FBI found child pornography in 26 files on a seized SSD hard drive.
The U.S. government's sentencing recommendation is at the lower end of the guidelines on the offense level and applicable sentences.
This leniency might result from Fitzpatrick's cooperation with the authorities, lack of violent crime record, an early plea deal, or other factors.
In addition to the imprisonment, the U.S. government also seeks a fine for his possession of child pornography, a substantial term of supervised release, restitution to victims, and forfeiture of certain assets.
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This Cyber News was published on www.bleepingcomputer.com. Publication date: Thu, 18 Jan 2024 16:10:11 +0000