U.S. federal prosecutors have charged 25-year-old British national Kai West, known as “IntelBroker”, with leading a global cybercrime operation that stole sensitive data from dozens of companies, resulting in over $25 million in damages. The indictment, unsealed in New York, accuses West of conspiracy to commit computer intrusions and related offenses.
West was arrested in France back in February 2025 and has been in custody since then, while U.S. officials work to have him extradited. According to prosecutors, he ran a hacking crew that broke into corporate networks to steal sensitive internal data, things like customer databases and marketing plans, with the goal of making over $2.4 million in profit.
Investigators say West used the alias “IntelBroker” and operated the dark web forum BreachForums between August 2024 and January 2025. During that time, he allegedly carried out several of these hacks. While IntelBroker has claimed responsibility for attacks on companies like AMD, Cisco, and Hewlett-Packard Enterprise in the past, none of those names appear in the formal charges against him.
Authorities say West sold or offered data over 150 times between 2023 and 2025, sometimes for free, or in exchange for forum credits that boosted user status and unlocked advanced features.
Breach Forums was originally launched in March 2022 and shut down in 2023 after the arrest of its first operator, Conor Brian Fitzpatrick, who pleaded guilty and is set to be resentenced after an appeals court found his punishment too lenient.
Investigators linked West to the crimes using bitcoin traces. Authorities were able to connect transactions to West-related email accounts and wallets because undercover agents paid in Bitcoin for the stolen material, even though he preferred Monero because of its privacy capabilities.
If found guilty, West could spend up to 20 years behind bars. West’s lawyer has not been identified, and French officials have not responded to the matter. The case is in the Southern District of New York and is filed under U.S. v. West, 25-cr-134.
Also Read: Do Kwon to Appear in US Court Today, Will LUNC Price Jump?
