American Teenager's High-Flying Double Life EXPOSED as Notorious Hacker
American Teenager’s High-Flying Double Life EXPOSED 🚨
A notorious hacker who held companies hostage for millions while mocking the FBI’s efforts to catch him has been unmasked as a teenager. Prosecutors reveal that Peter Stokes, 19, frequently posted his high-flying escapades, flashing cash and staying in luxury hotels. He was arrested on April 10 in Finland while boarding a plane to Tokyo.
Stokes, known online as Bouquet, has been a prolific member of Scattered Spider, an international cybercriminal group, since he was just 16. He faces charges of wire fraud, conspiracy, and computer intrusion after participating in at least four online heists.
Officials allege that Stokes taunted the FBI, posting photos of himself in a gaudy diamond chain that read ‘HACK THE PLANET.’ A screenshot on his computer from 2024 showed a failed password login screen with the message ‘F** off, FBI.’ He even posted a meme of himself and fellow hackers as members of a fictional crime family from the classic series *Sopranos.
In March 2023, Stokes allegedly infiltrated an online communication platform known as ‘Company H.’ Investigators found encrypted messages between him and a co-conspirator filled with casual language like ‘bro’ and ‘lmfao.’ One message read: ‘u have 30 mins before i kick u off btw. [sic] i gtg to school.’
Stokes and his co-conspirators gained access to a multibillion-dollar luxury item retailer by tricking the organization’s tech help desk into believing they were employees. After gaining access, Stokes sent a ransom note claiming they had stolen 100 gigabytes of data, including credit card information, and demanded $8 million from the company. The organization did not pay, but the incident forced them to spend $2 million to manage the situation.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Scattered Spider primarily consists of teenagers and young adults, having been established in 2022 in the US and England.