Stephen Heymann

Stephen P. Heymann is an attorney who formerly served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts. He is no longer with the U.S. Attorney's office. He headed U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz's Internet and Computer Crimes Unit.

Heymann was a prosecutor in the United States v. Swartz federal criminal case, during which Aaron Swartz died by suicide. Heymann was also the lead prosecutor in the investigation of TJX hack which preceded the suicide of hacker Jonathan James, who repeatedly denied any role in the hack, including in his suicide note.

Personal Heymann is the son of former United States Deputy Attorney General Philip Heymann,

He was formerly a Special Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice's Organized Crime Strike Force, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division of the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney's Office. He headed that office's Internet and Computer Crimes Unit, one of the first offices of its kind in the U.S. in the lead-up to the arrest, prosecution and conviction of Julio César "Griton" Ardita, an Argentine man accused of hacking into NASA and Department of Defense computers. He stole passwords as Harvard users accessed other networks. and from retailers like BJ's, DSW, OfficeMax, Boston Market, Barnes & Noble, Sports Authority and Forever 21. James, an alleged "unindicted co-conspirator," was never prosecuted in the case, having committed suicide He was honored with the Attorney General's Distinguished Service Award by Attorney General Eric Holder for his work on "the largest and most successful identity theft and hacking investigation and prosecution ever conducted in the United States."

Aaron Swartz

Heymann's conduct in the prosecution of Internet activist Aaron Swartz is widely considered to be inconsistent with professional ethics. Two White House web site petitions to fire him for his handling of the case garnered a combined total of more than 90,000 signatures in less than a month. The White House responded by saying "We do not believe this is the appropriate forum in which to do so". One attorney for Swartz accused Heymann of using the case to gain publicity for himself. Two others submitted a complaint to the Department of Justice Office of Professional Responsibility, accusing Heymann of prosecutorial misconduct and alleging the prosecution withheld exculpatory evidence and undermined Swartz's right to a fair trial.

Swartz killed himself on January 11, 2013, before his trial.

Ortiz has defended the prosecution: "We thought the case was reasonably handled and we would not have done things differently. We're going to continue doing the work of the office and of following our mission." Testifying before the House Oversight Committee, Attorney General Eric Holder called the case "a good use of prosecutorial discretion."