The US Department of Justice Extradites Member of Scattered Spider Hacker Group Involved in Over $100 Million Cryptocurrency Ransomware Attack

BlockBeats News, July 2: The U.S. Department of Justice announced that it has extradited 19-year-old American and Estonian dual national Peter Stokes from Finland. He is charged as a member of the hacker group Scattered Spider (aka Octo Tempest, UNC3944, 0ktapus). The prosecution alleges that the organization is suspected of carrying out over 100 network intrusions, acquiring over $1 billion in cryptocurrency ransom, and causing millions of dollars in business interruption, evidence collection, and system restoration losses.

The indictment shows that Peter Stokes was arrested in Finland in April 2026 based on an INTERPOL Red Notice, extradited to the United States last week, appeared in a Chicago federal court for the first time on July 1, and is currently facing multiple charges including conspiracy, computer system intrusion, and fraud.

The prosecution also alleges that in May 2025, Peter Stokes participated in an attack on a luxury jewelry retailer, where he stole company data and demanded approximately $8 million in cryptocurrency ransom. The victimized company did not pay the ransom but still suffered over $2 million in business interruption and system repair losses.

The U.S. Department of Justice stated that this case is part of the FBI's "Operation Riptide" to combat cybercrime, reflecting law enforcement's ongoing efforts to enhance international cooperation in combating ransomware and cybercriminal activities involving cryptocurrency.