“This case exposes a world where cruelty is currency, violence is entertainment and children are treated as targets in a game of domination and control,” Jeanine Pirro, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said.
Prasan Nepal (aka “Trippy”) pleads guilty, faces 15–30 years
Prasan Nepal, a 21-year-old from North Carolina who joined and helped establish the group 764 as an underage teenager and later led it for almost four years, pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit sexual exploitation of a child, the Justice Department said. Under the plea agreement, Nepal faces a statutory range of at least 15 years and up to 30 years in prison when he is sentenced.
Federal prosecutors say Nepal, known online as “Trippy,” ran the network and played a central role facilitating the grooming, manipulation and extortion of minors. He admitted to directing membership rules, monitoring group activity and forcing prospective members to produce and share abusive material as a condition of entry.
764 and its ties to “The Com”
The Justice Department describes 764 as “a network of nihilistic violent extremists who engage in criminal conduct in the United States and abroad, seeking to destroy civilized society through the corruption and exploitation of vulnerable populations, which often include minors.” According to the court record cited by prosecutors, Nepal and his alleged co-conspirator Leonidas Varagiannis — arrested in Greece last year and known as “War” — controlled membership in 764 and a highly involved subgroup called “764 Inferno.”
Threat researchers, cited in the public account, place members of 764 within “The Com,” a global collective of loosely associated groups that the researchers say commit financially motivated, sexual and violent crimes. Prosecutors listed the monikers of 22 additional alleged co-conspirators in the indictment against Nepal and Varagiannis.
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Court records and the Justice Department lay out a sustained pattern of coercion. Nepal admitted to requiring prospective members to produce and share child sexual abuse material, self‑mutilation, self‑immolation, animal cruelty, and acts of violence against other people and property. He also ordered victims to commit these acts, monitored members’ compliance, and demanded continued production of self‑harm content.
Prosecutors allege that Nepal and Varagiannis exploited at least eight minor victims — some as young as 13 — across multiple jurisdictions. Officials also said members of 764 extorted victims to commit suicide and murder, and that the group published compilations of photographs and videos of targeted victims to gain notoriety and spread fear inside the network.
Law enforcement pressure and prior sentences
- Nepal’s plea follows a period of intensified law enforcement activity targeting 764 and affiliated groups.
- Kyle William Spitze, identified as an original 764 member and leader of an offshoot, was sentenced to 77 years in prison in late August — described as the longest imprisonment yet imposed on a nihilistic violent extremist.
- Alexis Aldair Chavez, who began associating with 764 as a child in 2022 before leading an offshoot called 8884, was sentenced to 40 years in July.
- Other alleged 764 members arrested since 2025 include Baron Cain Martin, Tony Christopher Long, Erik Lee Madison, Zachary Sweeney and Aaron Corey.
- Varagiannis, who was arrested in Greece last year, remains detained there and is expected to face trial in the next six months on charges related to child sexual abuse material and participation in a criminal organization, the Justice Department said.
What this means for victims, prosecutors, and threat researchers
- Victims and families: The plea and the sentences already imposed in related cases represent both legal culpability and an acknowledgment of the harms alleged. Prosecutors say the actions were part of a deliberate campaign to target vulnerable populations, including minors.
- Prosecutors and law enforcement: Authorities portray the plea as part of a broader enforcement strategy to disrupt networks that traffic in sexual exploitation and violent coordination. Jeanine Pirro framed the case as a warning that encrypted screens do not guarantee impunity.
- Threat researchers (Unit 221B and others): Allison Nixon, chief research officer at Unit 221B, told CyberScoop that removing offenders from online networks is a primary value, given “extremely high” reoffending rates for online gangs. Nixon added that faster arrests and longer sentences have been visible across generations of copycat groups and that success can be measured “in terms of child lives.”
The guilty plea closes one chapter in a sprawling federal investigation that ties a small, tightly controlled online network to sustained abuse of minors, yet it leaves active prosecutions and international detention timelines in motion — notably the expected trial for Varagiannis in Greece. The Justice Department’s characterization of 764 as a nihilistic violent extremist network, combined with sentences already imposed on related figures, signals prosecutors’ intent to treat these online gangs as criminal organizations with long-term consequences for leaders and highly involved participants.
