In November 2017, Chief Petty Officer Kenton Stacy was injured in Raqqa, Syria while clearing the second floor of a hospital that ISIS had booby trapped with explosives. Now a quadriplegic, Stacy is among nearly 1,000 plaintiffs—most of them military families—seeking compensation from $777 million that French cement company Lafarge paid to the Justice Department more than three years ago.
Lafarge was found guilty by a French court in April for providing material support to a terror group. The company paid more than $6.5 million to ISIS from 2013 through 2014 via its Syrian subsidiary to keep production facilities running in ISIS-controlled territory. Its former CEO was sentenced to six years in prison, and eight former employees were found guilty. Lafarge is appealing the verdict.
The DOJ settlement, reached in October 2022, placed the funds into an asset forfeiture account designated for victims of ISIS attacks. Military families say they have repeatedly asked the department to distribute the money but have received none of it.
Lindsey Stacy, speaking alongside her husband at their home, described the impact on her family. 'I mean, they were essentially funneling money to fund terrorists and ISIS and all these heinous crimes and evil acts,' she said. 'It's very overwhelming, Kenton struggles mentally and physically with his own battles and the kids and I. We have our own struggles.'
The Stacys face particular challenges beyond their son's injuries. Their oldest son has cerebral palsy and requires 24-hour care. Stacy was a Navy Explosives Ordnance Disposal specialist injured while clearing the booby-trapped hospital in Raqqa, which had been liberated by U.S.-backed forces.
What the Right Is Saying
Republican lawmakers have been more vocal in pressing the Justice Department to act on the pending petitions for fund distribution. In February, Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., pressed Attorney General Pam Bondi directly during a congressional hearing on when the DOJ planned to release the funds to the 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,' Biggs said. 'The previous administration ignored these victims and our requests and left their petitions unresolved.'
Some Republican commentators have argued that delays in distributing victim compensation funds represent a failure of the executive branch to carry out its obligations under the settlement agreement. They note that Lafarge's guilty plea in U.S. proceedings in 2022 should have cleared the way for expediting payments.
Lafarge has described the matter as a 'legacy issue' and acknowledged it was 'in flagrant violation of Lafarge's Code of Conduct.' The company is appealing its French conviction while the DOJ holds the settlement funds.
What the Left Is Saying
Progressive advocates and some Democratic lawmakers have supported expanding legal avenues for military families to seek compensation from companies that funded terrorist organizations. They argue that victims of ISIS attacks deserve timely access to funds that were specifically designated for them.
The families' attorney, Todd Toral of Jenner & Block, who is also a U.S. Marine, has framed the case as precedent-setting. 'I think the ruling by the court in France is significant generally, because it's the first time in many, many years that a corporation, and not just the corporation, but executives at a corporation have been held to account for their misconduct in aiding terrorism,' Toral said in an interview.
Some advocates note that families of fallen service members who died fighting ISIS face particular hardships without compensation. Hailey Dayton, whose father was the first American killed by ISIS in Syria on Thanksgiving Day 2016, has spoken publicly about her family's loss. 'I was 15 when my dad was killed,' she told Fox News from her home in Florida. She described learning of his death through Navy personnel arriving at her door.
What the Numbers Show
$777 million: Amount Lafarge paid to the Justice Department in October 2022 as part of its settlement for funding ISIS through its Syrian operations.
$6.5 million: Total amount Lafarge admitted paying to ISIS from 2013 to 2014 to keep its cement factory operational in ISIS-controlled Jalabiya, Syria.
Nearly 1,000: Number of plaintiffs in the civil litigation pending in the Eastern District of New York seeking compensation from the DOJ fund.
$680 million: Amount Lafarge paid for its Syrian factory in Jalabiya months before the Syrian uprising began in 2011. The cement produced there was also used to build tunnels and bunkers for ISIS.
6 years: Prison sentence given to Lafarge's former CEO after the French court conviction in April. Eight other former employees were also found guilty.
2+ hours: Amount of time Army Staff Sergeant Justin Peck performed CPR on Kenton Stacy while medics worked to save his life after the explosion. President Trump recognized both service members during his 2018 State of the Union address.
The Bottom Line
Military families affected by ISIS attacks in Syria are awaiting action from the Justice Department more than three years after Lafarge's settlement was finalized. Congressional Republicans have pressed successive attorneys general on when petitions for remission will be reviewed and funds distributed to victims who were injured or lost family members fighting ISIS in Iraq and Syria.
The case represents an unusual intersection of French criminal proceedings, U.S. civil litigation, and DOJ administrative processes for distributing forfeited assets. While Lafarge continues its appeal of the French conviction, the company has acknowledged violating its own conduct policies by funding a designated terrorist organization.
Families like the Stacys say delays in compensation compound their physical, emotional, and financial burdens. The Justice Department has not publicly committed to a timeline for reviewing petitions or distributing funds to victims.