Teen Hacker Bouquet Ransoms Chicago Firms

Federal prosecutors in Chicago have charged 19-year-old Peter Stokes, a dual U.S.-Estonian citizen known online as “Bouquet,” with taking part in Scattered Spider hacks and ransom demands. (chicagotribune.com) The Chicago Tribune reported that Stokes was arrested in Finland on April 10, 2026, as he tried to board a flight to Tokyo, and U.S. authorities are seeking to extradite him to Chicago. (chicagotribune.com) (hoodline.com) The charges include wire fraud, conspiracy, and computer intrusion, according to reporting on the sealed federal complaint. Prosecutors say he was involved in at least four intrusions tied to large companies in the Chicago area and elsewhere. (chicagotribune.com) (gbhackers.com) One attack described in the complaint targeted an unnamed online communications platform in March 2023, when Stokes was 16. Another targeted a multibillion-dollar luxury retailer in May 2025, where investigators say the hackers demanded $8 million and claimed to have stolen about 100 gigabytes of data. (hoodline.com) (heise.de) Scattered Spider is a loose cybercrime network made up largely of teenagers and young adults in the United States and Europe. U.S. and allied agencies say the group specializes in talking its way past corporate information-technology help desks, resetting credentials, and then stealing data or deploying ransomware. (fbi.gov) That help-desk tactic is central to the case against Stokes. In the luxury retailer intrusion, the attackers allegedly posed as employees on the phone to reset login credentials, then used administrator access to move through the company’s systems. (hoodline.com) (heise.de) The complaint, as described by the Tribune, also says Stokes flaunted the proceeds online, posting photos with cash, jewelry, and travel from Dubai to Thailand to New York. Investigators said he wore a diamond necklace spelling “HACK THE PLANET” and taunted the Federal Bureau of Investigation as the hacks escalated. (chicagotribune.com) The Chicago case lands as the Justice Department has widened its pursuit of alleged Scattered Spider members. In September 2025, prosecutors in New Jersey charged U.K. national Thalha Jubair in a separate case involving at least 120 intrusions and extortion tied to 47 U.S. entities. (justice.gov) Stokes has not been tried, and the allegations in the complaint remain unproven until tested in court. If Finland approves extradition, the case will move to federal court in Chicago, where prosecutors say Bouquet’s online persona met a real-world arrest. (chicagotribune.com)