Morgan Stanley has agreed to settle $6.5 million over the insecure disposal of equipment containing unencrypted personal information.
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Connor Brian Fitzpatrick was taken into custody by FBI agents on Jan. 2 after he admitted to a judge that he violated his parole by using a computer and VPN service without the necessary monitoring software.
The 21-year-old was initially arrested last March at his parents’ home in Peekskill, New York, for his involvement in BreachForums, a cybercriminal forum aimed at trading stolen data. During the arrest, the FBI said Fitzpatrick admitted to being “Pompompurin,” the chief administrator of BreachForums. In July, he pleaded guilty to three charges related to operating the site and storing child pornography on one of his devices. Sentencing was originally scheduled for November 17, but was moved to January 19. In May, Fitzpatrick tried to take his own life, and in October, his lawyer filed documents requesting a postponement of the sentencing date so that “various aspects of Mr. Fitzpatrick’s mental health can be evaluated by experts.”
When Fitzpatrick first agreed to the plea deal, the court clearly outlined what he was prohibited from doing, including accessing computers without computer monitoring software installed by court staff. This software restricted access to certain websites and recorded all device activity.
He was also banned from communicating with anyone under the age of 18 or visiting websites related to stolen data or hacking; the use of VPNs, Tor browsers or proxy services was also prohibited. It was allowed to travel for doctor’s appointments. Fitzpatrick appeared before Judge Judith K. McCarthy on Tuesday after his arrest and pleaded guilty to violating his pretrial release.
Court documents state: “The defendant waives any immediate and future appearance in this district and will be immediately transported by FBI agents to the Eastern District of Virginia to appear before a United States Magistrate in that district.” Fitzpatrick faces decades in prison for his involvement in several high-profile hacking scandals and must register as a sex offender upon any potential release.
This structure presents the most important information at the top, followed by supporting details, and concludes with implications and next steps for the parties involved, consistent with the inverted pyramid style often used in journalism.
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