On June 5, 2023, in the U.S. case against Diogo Santos Coelho (“Omnipotent” of RAIDForums), Lauren Pomerantz Halper was added as an attorney for the U.S.
On June 5, 2023, in the U.S. case against Conor Brian Fitzpatrick (“Pompompurin” of BreachForums), Lauren Pomerantz Halper was added as an attorney for the U.S.
That the same prosecuting attorney would be involved in both cases is no surprise given how the forums were run and the alleged interactions between Coelho and Fitzpatrick. But why was Halper’s appearance announced yesterday in both cases? Is something up or about to be announced?
The U.S.’s attempt to extradite Coelho from the U.K. to here still hasn’t been decided by the U.K., but a public defender was appointed to him in November of 2022. In February of 2023, a psychologist testified to a U.K. court that Coelho could be a suicide risk if he was extradited because of his autism.
Coelho’s case raises a number of issues — not the least of which should be whether the U.K. should reward the U.S. for waiting until Coelho was old enough to be tried as an adult when they knew his identity for years and maybe could have stopped his activities years sooner. Whether the U.K. can consider that question in making their decision on extradition is unknown to DataBreaches, but it is a question that this site believes should be addressed at some point. Wherever he is charged, he should not be penalized as an adult for crimes he committed as a child.
As to Fitzpatrick: he was scheduled to be indicted on May 15, but that never happened. Whether his hospitalization had anything to do with that is unknown to DataBreaches, but on April 27, there were a number of sealed motions and orders, and then nothing publicly disclosed since then until yesterday’s announcement that Halper will appear as counsel for the U.S. Is the unexplained lack of an indictment due to a plea deal in the works or about to be announced or is this just routine?