Source: United States Department of Justice
“As Co-Chair of the White Collar, Cyber, and Crypto Subcommittee of Acting Attorney General Blanche’s Advisory Committee, I am acutely aware of the significant and growing threat posed by brazen cyber criminals,” said U.S. Attorney Andrew S. Boutros.
Source: United States Army
Closure
Fifty-seven years after he was wounded in Vietnam, one Army Reserve NCO made sure Spc. 4 Raymond Williams finally had his moment.
WASHINGTON D.C. — For 19-year-old Spc. 4 Raymond Williams, 1969 was shaping up to be a year to forget, before it even began. On Dec. 31, 1968, New Year’s Eve, the young infantryman was being loaded onto a helicopter and medevac’d out of the jungle with wounds that would take more than half a century to heal.
A year earlier, almost to the day, Williams had walked into a recruiting station and raised his right hand. He completed basic training, earned his paratrooper wings and soon became his unit’s M60 gunner – the tip of the spear. It was the weapon he carried into the Central Highlands of Vietnam, where he found himself in what he called “a small firefight.”
“I just remember getting shot in the arm first, then the shoulder. I was trying to carry on, but my right arm was just hanging,” said Williams. “I did the best I could.”
Military records confirm what happened at approximately 10 a.m., north of An Khe: an enemy AK-47 round tore through his right arm, fracturing the bone in two places and lacerating the nerve leading to his forearm and thumb.
On Aug. 25, 1969, permanently disabled from his combat wounds, Williams was medically retired.
“I remember getting on the chopper and I didn’t want to leave,” he said. “I did not want to leave.”
Back home Williams built a life. He worked as a pressman at the Easter Seals printing press, married and raised three children. Life was good – but the war never fully lost its grip.
“The VA was never prepared for us,” he said. “We stood outside in a line in the ice cold to get into the hospital because they just weren’t ready. But it was just what it was.”
Williams rarely spoke of the war. Like many veterans of that era, he battled with depression and did his best to cope with post-traumatic stress disorder, long before it had a name.
“It was a tough, unpopular war – coming home was tough,” he said. “Nobody wanted to talk. You kind of bury it.”
Years passed. His family learned not to bring it up. Then, in 2025, Williams decided it was time.
At 77, Williams, while in the hospital, told his daughter Kelly he wanted to visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall – and finally receive the Purple Heart he had earned, but never been awarded.
Kelly filed the paperwork with the National Personnel Records Center. Weeks later, she received confirmation. When the medal arrived in May 2026, she contacted the Army to ask whether her father could receive it during their trip to Washington, D.C. She hoped it could be a surprise.
It was a long shot. The family was deep into their travel plans from New Hampshire – and time was short.
Master Sgt. Virginia Crutchfield was at Army Headquarters when the request came through – and immediately knew she had to make it happen.
Crutchfield, an Army Reserve Soldier on a one-year tour coordinating Medal of Honor ceremonies, had just nine days to pull it together. Purple Heart presentations were not in her lane, but the team shifted workloads so she could take on the mission. Every detail she handled – from securing pentagon space, to arranging homemade brownies and cake – was driven by an understanding of what soldiers of Williams generation faced when they came home; the silence, the stigma, the lack of welcome – and it drove her to make the moment right.
“When I go out, people see me in uniform and say, thank you for your service, with a smile, sometimes with a hug. In their time, they didn’t,” Crutchfield said, her voice breaking. “It touched me. They go out and fight for us to remain free. It’s the least we could do.”
On the morning of the ceremony, Williams arrived expecting a tour. He and his family – daughter Kelly, sons Eric and Mark, and grandson Fynn – were escorted through the Pentagon to a corridor junction where a crowd had gathered: unfamiliar faces, soldiers in uniform, and Crutchfield.
That’s when he realized what was happening. Overwhelmed, he took Crutchfield’s hand.
“All he could say was, ‘you, you … you got me,’” she said. “Sir, you did this. We are honored to do this for you.”
Army Reserve Ambassador Phillip Churn Sr., a retired Major General, presented the award.
“The Purple Heart is not an award soldiers seek,” he said. “It is … earned through blood, sacrifice, and an unyielding commitment to the defense of this nation. Today, we correct the record. Today, we pin this medal where it has always belonged – on the chest of a paratrooper who gave his blood for our freedom.”
Fynn Williams, 8, had practiced his speech for weeks while keeping the secret from his grandfather.
“There are some things in life that should never be lost,” Fynn said. “Especially honor, sacrifice, and courage. Years ago, you earned this through your service and sacrifice for our country. Even though the medal was gone, what it represents never was. We wanted to make sure it found its way back home, to where it belongs.”
“We are proud of you. We are grateful for you. We love you, Papa.”
For Kelly, the ceremony was about more than just a medal.
“It is about ensuring that his story, his service, and his legacy are remembered.” she said. “We have hope that today provides our father with a measure of peace.”
Williams had one word. “Closure.”
“It never goes away,” he said of the memories that still haunt him. But it’s a step in the right direction. “This is probably good closure now. I feel like it’s all out in the open.”
“I feel good now, I feel good today. This is good.”
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
An alleged member of the criminal cyber hacking group Scattered Spider has been arrested in Finland and extradited to the United States to face federal criminal conspiracy charges in the Northern District of Illinois.
A criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday charges Peter Stokes, 19, a dual citizen of the United States and Estonia, with conspiracy, computer intrusion, and fraud. Stokes was arrested by Finnish authorities in April pursuant to an Interpol Red Notice and extradited to the United States last week. He made an initial appearance on Tuesday in federal court in Chicago and was ordered to remain in law enforcement custody.
“The criminal complaint charges Peter Stokes with membership in Scattered Spider, a hacking group that has been involved in over 100 network intrusions, resulting in more than $100 million in ransom payments and millions more in damages to the victims,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The charges unsealed today are the result of years of work by the Criminal Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois, and the FBI. We will continue to partner to ensure that cybercriminals cannot evade the reach of the United States.”
“The malicious attacks from Scattered Spider caused widespread disruption to businesses and organizations throughout the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Andrew S. Boutros for the Northern District of Illinois. “As Co-Chair of the White Collar, Cyber, and Crypto Subcommittee of Acting Attorney General Blanche’s Advisory Committee, I am acutely aware of the significant and growing threat posed by brazen cyber criminals. These charges underscore our unwavering commitment to keeping pace with technologically savvy criminal actors and holding accountable those who seek to profit from cyber intrusions, including those located in foreign jurisdictions who do harm to American businesses and victims.”
“Scattered Spider has repeatedly targeted U.S. companies, extorting employees, inflicting millions of dollars in losses, and disrupting essential operations,” said Assistant Director Brett Leatherman of the FBI’s Cyber Division. “Through strong domestic and international partnerships, the FBI will continue to identify, disrupt, and hold cybercriminals accountable, no matter where they are located.”
According to the complaint, Scattered Spider, also known as “Octo Tempest,” “UNC3944,” and “0ktapus,” is a group of criminal cyber actors that has targeted numerous corporate victims in the United States by gaining access to companies’ employee accounts through fraudulent pretenses, encrypting the companies’ data or exfiltrating it to remote servers, and then extorting cryptocurrency from the companies to regain control over their data or prevent the dissemination of the data.
Among other offenses, the complaint alleges that Stokes and other co-conspirators breached a luxury jewelry retailer’s computer system, exfiltrated data from the company, and made a ransom demand of approximately $8 million in cryptocurrency in May 2025. The retailer’s security personnel successfully evicted the threat actors from the company’s computer network and no ransom was paid. The retailer nonetheless suffered a loss of at least $2 million due to business disruption, investigation, and mitigation of the threat.
The FBI Chicago Field Office investigated the case. The FBI’s Copenhagen Law Enforcement Attaché Office assisted.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Deputy Chief Adrienne L. Rose of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Chang and Ann Marie Ursini for the Northern District of Illinois. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with Finnish authorities to secure the extradition of Stokes. The Department of Justice also acknowledges and appreciates the assistance of Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation in this matter.
CCIPS investigates and prosecutes cybercrime and intellectual property (IP) crime in coordination with domestic and international law enforcement agencies, often with assistance from the private sector. Since 2020, CCIPS has secured the conviction of over 180 cyber and IP criminals, and court orders for the return of over $350 million in victim funds.
This action is part of Operation Riptide, an ongoing FBI campaign targeting the criminal actors, infrastructure, and financial networks behind cybercrime, cyber-enabled crime, and fraud against the American people. Last year, Americans reported over $20 billion in losses to cybercrime, a 26 percent single-year increase. Operation Riptide is the FBI’s sustained enforcement response to that threat.
A complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
VALDOSTA, Ga. — Lowndes County Sheriff’s Deputy Lieutenant Herb Bennett received the Middle District of Georgia’s “Hometown Hero” award today from U.S. Attorney William R. “Will” Keyes, an honor given as part of the Department of Justice’s Freedom 250 initiative, a nationwide effort in which every United States Attorney’s Office recognizes citizens whose service, leadership, and dedication have made a significant impact in their communities in celebration of America’s 250th anniversary.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Tampa, Florida – Juan Jaramillo Vazquez (50, Mexico), a/k/a Juan Vazquiz, has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Mary Scriven to two years in federal prison for illegal reentry by a deported alien and aggravated identity theft. Vazquez pleaded guilty on March 27, 2026. United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
DENVER – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Michael Shawn Stewart, 63, of Scottsdale, Arizona, was sentenced to a total of 288 months in federal prison and $93,273,838.16 in restitution after being found guilty by a federal jury in May 2024 on 14 counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Co-defendant, Bryant Edwin Sewall, 59, formerly of Little Elm, Texas, was sentenced to 23 years in federal prison in November 2024 after being convicted on the same counts.
Source: United States Department of Justice
DENVER – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Michael Shawn Stewart, 63, of Scottsdale, Arizona, was sentenced to a total of 288 months in federal prison and $93,273,838.16 in restitution after being found guilty by a federal jury in May 2024 on 14 counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Co-defendant, Bryant Edwin Sewall, 59, formerly of Little Elm, Texas, was sentenced to 23 years in federal prison in November 2024 after being convicted on the same counts.
Source: United States Department of Justice
Six members and associates of the South Los Angeles-based Hoover Criminal Gang – and the manager of a South L.A. motel – were among nine defendants arrested today, and 10 defendants arrested total, on federal indictments charging them with a series of crimes, including sex trafficking children and adults along the Figueroa Corridor.
Source: United States Department of Justice
TUCSON, Ariz. – Mark Craythorn Thompson, 63, of Detroit, Michigan, was sentenced on June 25, by United States District Judge Rosemary Márquez to 60 months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release. Thompson previously pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute Fentanyl.
Source: United States Department of Justice
The Justice Department filed a lawsuit today against the Commonwealth of Virginia and the Virginia State Police alleging that a newly enacted Virginia law unconstitutionally bans the purchase and sale of ordinary semi-automatic rifles owned by millions of Americans.
“The Constitution is not a suggestion, and the Second Amendment is not a second-class right,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “This Justice Department has done more to protect the Second Amendment than any administration in our nation’s history, and we will continue to do so whenever necessary.”
“On April 10, I promised Governor Spanberger that we would sue Virginia if she signed this unconstitutional weapons ban into law. I keep my promises,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Law-abiding Americans should not have to live under threat of criminal sanction for simply exercising their Second Amendment right to possess arms owned by millions of their fellow citizens.”
The Virginia law makes the commercial purchase of AR-15-style rifles a crime. The AR-15 rifle is the most popular rifle in America. Virginia’s enforcement of the new ban is a pattern or practice of conduct by the commonwealth’s law enforcement officers that deprives the citizens of Virginia of their constitutional right to buy and sell arms protected by the Second Amendment.
The Civil Rights Division’s Second Amendment Section enforces the Second Amendment. If you believe your right to keep and bear arms is being infringed, please submit a complaint through www.justice.gov/crt/second-amendment-section.