FBI Director Kash Patel announced on Wednesday that two leaders of the international sextortion, child exploitation ring 764 have been arrested by the Department of Justice and its international partners.
“Working with @TheJusticeDept @AGPamBondi, I can now report the FBI and our partners have arrested two individuals on charges of operating an international child exploitation enterprise,” Patel stated, calling the arrest a “significant case in our renewed mission to crack down on child sexual exploitation and abuse — heinous crimes that no child or parent should ever be faced with.”
Patel said they believe that the individuals who have been arrested and charged are leaders “within a violent online network known as 764, which often targets minors.”
“They will now face justice,” he added. Patel also vowed that the FBI “will never stop working to pursue, find, and bring to justice those who harm innocent children.”
Monsters Among Us
Leonidas Varagiannis, 21, a US citizen who resides in Thessaloniki, Greece, and Prasan Nepal, 20, who lives in North Carolina, were both taken into custody. Varagiannis goes by the name of “War” and was arrested in Greece on April 29. Nepal is known as “Trippy” and was arrested in North Carolina on April 22. The DOJ asserts that the two men are leaders of the “nihilistic violent extremist (NVE) network known as 764.”
From the DOJ’s press release:
According to the affidavit unsealed today in the District of Columbia, 764 is a violent online network that seeks to destroy civilized society through the corruption and exploitation of vulnerable populations, which often include minors. The 764 network’s accelerationist goals include social unrest and the downfall of the current world order, including the US Government.
“These defendants are accused of orchestrating one of the most heinous online child exploitation enterprises we have ever encountered — a network built on terror, abuse, and the deliberate targeting of children,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “We will find those who exploit and abuse children, prosecute them, and dismantle every part of their operation.”
“These defendants allegedly recruited others to exploit children and created a guide for the disgusting online content they wanted,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “Let me be very clear about our efforts. The FBI and our partners are determined to protect juveniles from predators, and we will track down and hold accountable those who engage in these criminal activities. We will continue to work closely with our partners at the Department of Justice to bring justice to the victims of such cruel abuse.”
“The allegations in this case are not only disturbing, they are also every parent’s nightmare,” said US Attorney Edward R. Martin Jr. for the District of Columbia. “The number of victims allegedly exploited by these defendants, and the depths of depravity are staggering. Justice demands that our response be swift in order to ensure public safety, hold the wrongdoers accountable, and bring the victims some sense of closure so they can heal.”
Stalking Young Girls
According to court documents, these two demons, along with others, targeted vulnerable children, especially girls with mental health issues, according to USA Today.
“The defendants engaged in a coordinated criminal enterprise and led a core subgroup within 764 known as 764 Inferno, operated through encrypted messaging applications,” the DOJ charged.
Group members were alleged by court documents to have groomed the girls. The leaders convinced them to send intimate images of themselves to them and talked them into performing other acts. They used the images to “coerce victims into providing more extreme and degrading content.”
Acts that the girls were coerced into included carving the names of 764 members into their bodies, setting themselves on fire, abusing pets or siblings, and attempting to commit suicide or murder.
Prosecutors claim that the two men exploited at least eight minors across multiple jurisdictions. The minors included girls as young as 13 years old.
The Group Known as 764
764 is reportedly a group that extorts minors sexually and glorifies violence, according to the Institute for Strategic Dialogue. They are known for swatting victims and/or making fake calls to law enforcement to intimidate them.
At least 10 members or people affiliated with 764 have been arrested since 2021 for sexual extortion, possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), or violent attacks.
More from USA Today:
The 764 members then took the images and created “Lorebooks” to share among 764 members, court documents allege. These books included child sexual abuse material and was viewed as “valuable currency” within the 764 group, court documents show.
According to court documents, 764 members shared their content, which was then stored in online vaults. Those managing the vaults agreed to keep the content if any members were “fedded,” or arrested.
Varagiannis and Nepal are accused of recruiting 764 members based on the quality and popularity of the content they shared online, court documents show.
More on the Two Men Arrested
Nepal resides in High Point, North Carolina, according to prosecutors. He’s been part of the group since late 2020 or early 2021. Along with his nickname “Trippy,” he is also called “Leather Jacket,” “Rebirth,” or “KingKrampus.”
According to USA Today, the founder of 764, who was not named, was arrested sometime around Aug. 25, 2021. He is serving 80 years in prison for possession with the intent to promote child pornography. Messages were found on his phone communicating with Nepal as far back as July 1, 2021. The two also talk about founding 764 together.
Varagiannis joined 764 after Nepal did in December 2023. Aside from his nickname of “War,” he also goes by “mercyisweak,” “mercyisweak2,” and sinister(expletive).”
An FBI agent charges in court documents that Nepal admitted to having child sexual abuse material in Snapchat messages.
USA Today further reported:
Per court documents, Nepal sent messages to people offering to send them child sexual abuse materials and sharing steps on how to groom victims suffering from mental health issues. He encouraged members to “seduce” girls suffering from mental illness and encourage them to harm themselves. He also wrote on Sept. 30, 2024, that members could extort girls who have no father figures in their lives.
According to court documents, Varagiannis helped to determine who was allowed access to the group. On one occasion, he told a prospective member that footage of a minor dying by suicide was “funny.”
Varagiannis is still in Greece and cannot be extradited, according to CBS News. The government there will ostensibly charge him since he has been arrested. Nepal can and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law in the United States.
Each of these evil scumbags faces a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted. Frankly, that’s not good enough. They should both get lethal injections.
