U.S. law enforcement arrested a New York man believed to be Pompompurin, the owner of the infamous BreachForums hacking forum.
During the arrest, the defendant allegedly admitted that his real name was Connor Brian Fitzpatrick and that he was Pompourin, the owner of the Breach Forums cybercrime forum.
According to court documents, Fitzpatrick was charged with one count of conspiracy to solicit individuals to sell unauthorized access devices.
Fitzpatrick was released on Thursday on a $300,000 bond and will appear in the District Court of the Eastern District of Virginia on March 24.
Besides being barred from obtaining a passport or other international travel document, Fitzpatrick has been restricted from contacting his co-conspirators and using a narcotic drug or other controlled substances unless prescribed by a licensed medical practitioner.
While the suspected owner of BreachForums is away, a forum admin said that the site would continue to operate in its current capacity. The admin added that they have full access to the site’s infrastructure and will continue to operate the forum.
Pompompurin has been a well-known player in a cybercriminal underground devoted to breaching companies and selling or leaking stolen data through forums and social media. He was also a high-profile member of the RaidForums cybercrime forum.
After the FBI seized RaidForums in 2022, Pompourin created a new forum named ‘BreachForums’. It has since become the largest data leak forum of its kind, commonly used by hackers and ransomware gangs to leak stolen data.
While BreachForums became a force in cybercrime on its own, Pompompurin has also been involved in various high-profile company breaches.