On April 30th, U.S. and international law enforcement arrested two individuals tied to one of the most disturbing online communities in recent history: “764,” a group described by investigators as a violent extremist network deeply rooted in online child abuse and psychological terror.
Leonidas Varagiannis, aka “War” (21), was arrested in Thessaloniki, Greece. Prasan Nepal, aka “Trippy” (20), was taken into custody in North Carolina about a week earlier. Both are accused of running a subgroup called 764 Inferno, described as the heart of the operation.
The group operated mainly through platforms like Telegram and Discord. Their goals weren’t just criminal, they were accelerationist. According to court documents, they wanted to “destroy civilized society” through fear, abuse, and chaos. And their main weapons were children.
Investigators say Varagiannis and Nepal led efforts to groom and coerce minors into producing explicit content, sometimes by threatening them, other times by manipulating them into performing disturbing rituals. Victims were reportedly forced to carve symbols into their skin (“cut signs”), harm animals, or even abuse family members, all for the twisted gratification of group members. The group then turned this content they call “Lorebooks,” which acted like a digital currency among members. More gore = more status.
The documents describe 764 as a self-sustaining machine. The leaders taught others how to groom new victims, set quotas for the kind of content that needed to be produced, and archived it all in encrypted “vaults.” The psychological manipulation was deliberate, systematic, and sadistic. In at least eight known cases, minors, as young as 13, were directly exploited. As far as we know, the number could be much higher.
According to the FBI and DOJ, the two arrested were not just participants, they were leading it. The abuse spanned from 2020 to early 2025. Prosecutors say they’ve built a strong case, and if convicted, both men could face life in prison.
Here’s what Attorney General Pamela Bondi had to say:
“This isn’t just a case of online abuse. This was a fully-fledged network built on terror and trauma. We’re committed to dismantling every part of it.”
The takedown was part of a larger DOJ effort under “Project Safe Childhood,” a long-running initiative targeting internet-based child exploitation. Agencies involved in the arrest include the FBI’s Washington and New York Field Offices, the FBI’s Athens Legal Attaché, the Hellenic National Police, and others across multiple jurisdictions.
Interestingly, this case also touches on how these groups mimic traditional organized crime with ranks, initiation processes, trade systems, and even recruitment manuals. Except instead of drugs or weapons, their trade was trauma.
Varagiannis and Nepal are expected to be extradited or appear in court in Washington, D.C., where the case is being prosecuted.
This case is still unfolding, but based on what’s already known, it stands out as one of the most disturbing examples of online exploitation to date.