Warning over terrifying online gang which pushes teenage victims to take nudes, hurt family pets or self-harm

A violent predator group has gotten the attention of the FBI after luring children into extreme behavior over the internet.

The sadistic group – known as ‘764’ – is known as a nihilistic violent extremist network (NVE) that befriends teens through popular online platforms, then coerces them into performing cruel and sexual acts.

‘We see a lot of bad things, but this is one of the most disturbing things we’re seeing,’ said FBI Assistant Director David Scott told ABC News.

‘They will encourage them sometimes to commit suicide, they will encourage them to do cutting, they will encourage them to harm their pets.’

The FBI has over 250 investigations into 764 underway, with every single one of the bureaus 55 field offices across the country handling a case.

Two men accused of having leadership roles in the virulent online exploitation were arrested and charged last week.

Leonidas Varagiannis, 21, and Prasan Nepal, 20, allegedly led a core subgroup of 764 known as ‘764 Inferno,’ which targeted vulnerable people, including children, with tactics designed to induce self-harm, the Department of Justice said.

The pair were also involved in making and distributing child sexual abuse material, which was combined with other ‘gore and violent material to create digital “Lorebooks.”‘

The material was then traded among group members and treated as currency to recruit new members or maintain status within the network. 

Nepal, known as ‘Trippy,’ was arrested on April 22 in North Carolina. Varagiannis, known as ‘War,’ is a U.S. citizen living in Greece. He was arrested there on April 28.

Nepal is accused of starting 764 with its Texas-based founder, Bradley Cadenhead, who is serving an 80-year-prison sentence after pleading guilty to several child pornography-related charges in 2023.

Cadenhead, who was 15 at the time, launched the online community on the social platform Discord and called it “764” after the ZIP code of where he lived, according to court documents.

The FBI warned of a sharp increase in 764 activity in a March 6 public service announcement. 

764 goals include social unrest and the downfall of the current world order, including the United States Government, the agency said.

‘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,’ U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said.

FBI Director Kash Patel said the network was designed ‘to exploit children and created a guide for the disgusting online content they wanted.’ 

The criminal complaint filed against Varagiannis and Nepal included instructional material on how to manipulate and abuse girls.

‘In order to manipulate into one producing content in your name, you must make her feel loved to the point she does not want to let go or lose you, and that’s when you start requesting work like blood signs,’ the instructions state.

‘The best woman to target are ones that have depression or mentally ill ones.’

In one case, a 17-year-old girl from Connecticut was targeted on Roblox and Discord by a 764 member who convinced her they were a couple, reported ABC News.

Her coerced her into making graphic content, including a nude Barbie doll with ‘764’ written on it and a note written in her blood calling the man who targeted her a ‘god.’

She was even accused of helping direct a series of swatting threats to local schools, which she was eventually arrested for.