The story follows Chief Petty Officer Kenton Stacy, who was gravely wounded clearing an ISIS-booby-trapped hospital in Raqqa and is now a quadriplegic, his family’s fight for compensation from Lafarge after a French court found the company paid ISIS, and the stalled U.S. distribution of $777 million in assets intended to help victims and military families.
Kenton Stacy was hurt in November 2017 in Raqqa while clearing the second floor of a hospital riddled with explosives, a mission that left him permanently disabled and reshaped his family’s life. His wife Lindsey and their four children are now plaintiffs in litigation that seeks to hold Lafarge accountable for funneling money to ISIS during the Syrian conflict. The case has resonated beyond one family because it hits at corporate responsibility and who pays when American troops are harmed by terrorism. Families argue that when a multinational corporation finances terror, the consequences are real and personal.
The legal backdrop is stark: a French court recently convicted Lafarge of providing material support to a terror group and sentenced a former CEO to prison, while several employees were also found guilty. The company described the affair as a “legacy matter,” which was “in flagrant violation of Lafarge’s Code of Conduct.” For the plaintiffs, that admission matters less than the human toll created by those payments to ISIS between 2013 and 2014.
Lindsey Stacy put the human toll into blunt terms when she recalled what her family faces each day and the emotional strain of caring for a severely injured spouse. “I mean, they were essentially funneling money to fund terrorists and ISIS and all these heinous crimes and evil acts,” she said, laying blame squarely on corporate choices. “It’s very overwhelming, Kenton struggles mentally and physically with his own battles and the kids and I. We have our own struggles,” she continued. “It’s hard to juggle, especially when our oldest son has cerebral palsy, and he requires his own 24-7 care.” Her words underline how a single corporate decision can echo through a household for years.
President Trump highlighted Kenton’s sacrifice during the 2018 State of the Union, praising the courage that saved his life and the service of those who risk everything. “Kenton Stacy would have died if not for Justin’s selfless love for a fellow warrior. Tonight, Kenton is recovering in Texas. Raqqa is liberated.…All of America salutes you.” That rescue by Army Staff Sergeant Justin Peck—who gave two hours of CPR under fire—illustrates the on-the-ground heroism that contrasts with boardroom choices that allegedly funded the enemy.
The estate of accountability includes nearly 1,000 plaintiffs in U.S. courts, most of them military families demanding that the money forfeited by Lafarge be directed to victims. Todd Toral, a lawyer and former Marine, represents Kenton Stacy and about two dozen other families and presses for distribution of the $777 million Lafarge paid to the Justice Department in 2022. He argues that the French ruling is historic because it holds both a corporation and its executives responsible for aiding terrorism, and those findings should be meaningful for victims here at home.
That $777 million has sat under Justice Department control since October 2022 while victims wait for relief they say they desperately need. Families point out that the funds are meant to compensate people harmed by violence tied to the payments, and they are frustrated by delays they see as political or bureaucratic. “They were killed in Syria by a gruesome terrorist organization that was funded in part by Lafarge. And that’s not an allegation. That is undisputed fact. Lafarge pled guilty to doing that in 2022,” a lawyer for plaintiffs told courts, stressing the plain link between corporate conduct and battlefield losses.
Survivors like Hailey Dayton, whose father was the first American killed by ISIS in Syria on Thanksgiving Day 2016, carry memories that demand action. “I was 15 when my dad was killed,” she recalled. “I saw six guys in Navy white step out of the van. I got so excited because I thought my dad came back to surprise us. I remember opening the door, huge smile on my face, and I was looking at the men, trying to find my dad and I didn’t find, I didn’t see him, but instead I saw six guys with tears in their eyes.” Stories like hers press the point that delayed distributions are not abstract policy—they are missed lifelines to grieving families.
Congressional pressure has mounted, with members asking when the Justice Department would release funds to victims, and former officials vowing to act on behalf of those families. “In February 2025, my colleagues and I sent you a letter urging the department to review the petitions for remission submitted by the families of those fallen service members, including several of my constituents. The previous administration ignored these victims and our requests and left their petitions unresolved,” a legislator said in hearings, to which Bondi replied, “Congressman, we are aware of that and we’re committed to doing everything we can to support the victims and work with you. Thank you for that question.” Yet many families still await concrete results.
For relatives like Chief Petty Officer Scott Dayton’s daughter, the wait feels personal and unfair. “I don’t know why. I don’t know why they’re ignoring us. To me, it feels like being a pawn. My dad, he went in when he was 19, he served 23 years,” she said, urging officials to move. Lindsey Stacy echoed that plea for justice and stability: “There’s a lot of families out there that could benefit from these funds. I mean, it’s been almost nine years. It would be nice to, you know, for justice to be served.” Their messages push for a clear Republican priority—stand by the troops and make sure victims are made whole.
Toral presses on, arguing these families deserve priority access to the forfeited funds. “We can think of no group of people who are more worthy of receiving compensation from that victim’s compensation fund than these families who lost a son, lost a brother, lost a husband, and they deserve to be treated better by the United States of America,” he said. The Department of Justice answered in a formal statement: “The Department is committed to compensating all victims to the maximum extent permitted by law. While we cannot comment on a pending matter, the Department will always engage in the appropriate process to evaluate claims and ensure that our brave servicemembers receive any amount of compensation to which they are entitled.”
