Federal Appeals Court Orders Resentencing of BreachForums Founder Connor Fitzpatrick

Connor Fitzpatrick, the founder and administrator of the dark web platform BreachForums, has been resentenced to three years in prison after a federal appeals court reversed his prior sentence of time served and 20 years of supervised release.

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested Connor Fitzpatrick in March 2023 for running a hacking forum that enabled cyber crime. The US Department of Justice said the then 20-year-old hacker operated BreachForums as a marketplace for cybercriminals to buy, sell, and trade hacked or stolen data and other contraband since March 2022.

Fitzpatrick surrendered all his documents and was barred from contacting witnesses, co-defendants, or co-conspirators. Court documents also reveal that Fitzpatrick’s primary intention in operating BreachForums was to engage in and facilitate the trafficking of stolen or hacked databases, including access devices. His actions amounted to aiding and abetting cyber criminal activities on a global scale.

In fact, the US government recommended to the Court that Fitzpatrick be sentenced to fifteen years and eight months in prison which would reflect the seriousness of his crimes.

The District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia finally sentenced Fitzpatrick to 20 years of supervised release after he pleaded guilty to the charges brought against him that included possession of child pornography and conspiracy to traffic stolen personally identifying information.

In January 2025, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit overturned Fitzpatrick’s original sentence, sending the case back for resentencing. He has now been given a new sentence of three years in prison for his involvement in running BreachForums and for possession of child sexual abuse material.

In a statement shared with the media, U.S. Attorney Erik S. Siebert for the Eastern District of Virginia, said, “Conor Fitzpatrick personally profited from the sale of vast quantities of stolen information, ranging from private personal information to commercial data. These crimes were so extensive that the damage is difficult to quantify, and the human cost of his collection of child sexual abuse material is incalculable. We will not allow criminals to hide in the darkest corners of the internet and will use all legal means to bring them to justice.”