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category tags aliases summary born location relations created updated
Extremism & Violent Networks
Person
764Inferno
ChildExploitation
NVE
FederalCase
Greece
USA
Leonidas Varagiannis
Varagiannis
War
War764
mercyisweak
Leonidas Varagiannis (alias 'War') is a U.S. citizen accused in federal court in Washington of co-leading the 764 Inferno child exploitation enterprise, arrested in Thessaloniki, Greece, in April 2025. 2004 Thessaloniki, Greece
type with role start fn
participant_in 764 Inferno co-leader and administrator, as alleged 2023-12 22
type with role start fn
participant_in 764 Network member and leader, as alleged 2023-12 22
type with role start fn
partner_of Prasan Nepal co-leader of 764 Inferno and co-defendant 2023-12 30
type with reverse start fn
investigated Federal Bureau of Investigation true 2025-04-15 2
type with reverse start fn
investigated Hellenic National Police true 2025-04-29 1
type with reverse start fn
prosecuted U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia true 2025-09-26 11
type with reverse start fn
prosecuted Justin Sher true 2025-04-30 1
type with reverse start fn
represented Xanthippi Moysidou true 2025-04-30 5
2026-05-21 2026-10-09

Leonidas Varagiannis, known online as "War" (born approximately 2004), is a United States citizen who was residing in Thessaloniki, Greece when Greek police arrested him there on April 29, 2025.1 The U.S. Department of Justice announced the next day that he and Prasan Nepal ("Trippy") had been charged in the District of Columbia with operating a child exploitation enterprise through 764 Inferno, a core subgroup of the 764 Network.1 Nepal was arrested in North Carolina on April 22, 2025, eight days earlier.1 The Federal Bureau of Investigation Washington and New York field offices led the investigation, with help from the FBI Charlotte field office, the FBI legal attache office in Athens and the Hellenic National Police.1 The allegations below come from the charging documents and from reporting that attributes them to those documents or to Greek authorities.

Complaint and arrest

A criminal complaint was sworn on April 15, 2025, by FBI Special Agent Andrew Rust before Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui.2 It charges Varagiannis and Prasan Nepal with a child exploitation enterprise under 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(g). The court sealed the case on the day the complaint was filed and unsealed it on April 30, 2025, the day after the arrest in Greece.3

Greek police took Varagiannis into custody on Tuesday, April 29, in Thessaloniki, on an international arrest warrant and extradition request from the United States. The Greek police statement refers to an international search notice issued through Interpol at U.S. request. It said the offenses were alleged to have been committed between December 2023 and April 2025, that they are also punishable under Greek law, and that the United States sought his extradition to be tried for violating its child exploitation laws.4 On April 30 he appeared before an appellate prosecutor in Thessaloniki. He denied the allegations and formally opposed extradition, according to Greek judicial authorities and his lawyer, Xanthippi Moysidou.56 Moysidou told the Associated Press that because he resided in Greece throughout the period of the alleged offenses, "Greek law and courts have jurisdiction over the case, and his extradition is explicitly prohibited." AP reported that he would remain in custody until a court of appeals ruled on the request.5

Extradition proceedings

On July 9, 2025, AP reported from Thessaloniki that a court had rejected the U.S. extradition request. Court officials said the claim was rejected because he had applied for, and was eligible to receive, Greek citizenship. Moysidou told AP that the panel upheld the claim "that the extradition of a Greek national is forbidden, acknowledging his Greek citizenship by virtue of being the child of a Greek parent." AP reported that he was due to be released from custody that week.7

On October 17, 2025, To Vima reported that Greek authorities had arrested an unnamed 21-year-old Greek-American man in Thessaloniki on Greek felony charges of participating in a US-based criminal organization that trafficked child pornography. It says he had been arrested the previous April on the U.S. request, that an appellate council had rejected his extradition because of his dual citizenship, and that the U.S. Department of State has reportedly asked for his extradition. It says an 18-year-old was arrested in the same case as an accomplice. According to the report, the 21-year-old denied the charges and said he had gone to the younger man's residence and only accessed an application on that man's computer.8

The Justice Department's October 9, 2026 release states that Varagiannis "is currently being held at Grevena Prison in northern Greece and is expected to have a trial in the next six months on charges related to child pornography and participation in a criminal organization."9 Euronews reported in May 2025 that he denied the charges and opposed extradition to the United States.6

A GreekReporter article dated January 12, 2026 described a 21-year-old Greek American detained in Thessaloniki on a U.S. request, with the extradition request under review by Greek courts.10

Indictment

A grand jury in the District of Columbia was sworn on June 6, 2025. On September 26, 2025, it returned a one-count indictment against Varagiannis and Nepal in case number 1:25-cr-00304, assigned to Judge Reggie B. Walton.1112 Count One charges a child exploitation enterprise under 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(g). It alleges that the two defendants engaged in the enterprise from a date before 2021 through about April 29, 2025, and lists as predicate offenses the distribution of child pornography under 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(2) for conduct in June, August and September 2024, and the sexual exploitation of a child under 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a) for conduct in March 2024.11 Two predicate paragraphs name Varagiannis alone. One covers distribution conduct between August 31 and September 4, 2024, in the District of Columbia and elsewhere. The other covers the March 2024 conduct, which the indictment places in the District of Massachusetts.11 The forfeiture allegation seeks property under 18 U.S.C. § 2253 and 21 U.S.C. § 853(p).11 The predicate offenses listed in the complaint affidavit are broader. They include attempted sexual exploitation of a child, coercion and enticement of a minor under 18 U.S.C. § 2422(b), and conspiracy to distribute or receive child pornography.13

The Justice Department names Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexandra Hughes, Karen Shinskie and Jack Korba, and trial attorneys Justin Sher and James Donnelly of the National Security Division's Counterterrorism Section, as prosecutors.1 Korba withdrew his appearance on June 11, 2025.12 The Justice Department release of April 2025 states that the maximum penalty is life in prison.1

The docket lists Varagiannis as defendant 2 on the general order of September 30, 2025, and every later entry concerns Nepal alone: his arraignment on October 3, 2025, excluded-time orders through September 2026, a substitution of defense counsel in March 2026, and, on October 6, 2026, a one-count information against Nepal naming Varagiannis as a conspirator under 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a) and (e).1415 On October 8, 2026, Nepal pleaded guilty under a plea agreement; the Justice Department release gives a range of 15 to 30 years and a sentencing date of March 5, 2027.914

Overt acts alleged in the indictment

The indictment alleges that Varagiannis joined 764 in or around December 2023, that he used the monikers "mercyisweak" and "mercyisweak2" along with a third, and that throughout his participation he resided in Greece.16 It alleges that he and Nepal, with a co-conspirator known as "Fail," controlled recruitment, decided who entered 764 Inferno and who was promoted, and required members to continue producing content.16 On June 5, 2024, when a prospective member sought readmission, it alleges Varagiannis praised the candidate's content, including a video of a purported suicide, and that "Fail" later told another member to "speak with war" about joining.17 It alleges that on September 13, 2024 Varagiannis shared in a public 764 channel the guide on grooming and extortion.17

For the dates on which co-conspirators posted material in the channel, the indictment alleges that Varagiannis commented in the group on August 31, 2024 on content posted by a co-conspirator, posted on August 29 and 30, 2024, was active between 7:41 a.m. and 7:56 a.m. Pacific time on June 14, 2024, posted from 2:44 a.m. to 6:52 p.m. Pacific time on June 18, 2024, and was listed on a roster of the channel's members on August 31, 2024, three hours before a further compilation was posted.18 It also pleads direct messages exchanged on March 29 and 30, 2024 with a minor, which are the basis of the sexual exploitation predicate in Count One.18 The indictment designates nine minor victims by number and defines the group's "Lorebooks" as compilations edited from material taken from victims by blackmail and coercion and shared on social media platforms.1819

Identification

The affidavit gives several grounds for attributing the accounts to Varagiannis. A sensitive source reported that "War" was a member of the 764 Inferno channel and used a Platform A user identifier, X0446. A commercial subscription service recorded the username "War764" on that platform from January 30 through May 15, 2024.20 Platform B disclosures showed that three accounts using the display name "War764" attempted between November 1, 2023 and March 17, 2024 to coerce at least three minors into self-harm. One of the three accounts was in direct contact with a minor described in the affidavit, and all three were accessed from IP addresses resolving to Cosmote in Thessaloniki.20 A Google account registered under the name "War" was associated with a YouTube channel for "@mercyisweak."20 The affidavit states that accounts are often terminated for violations of platform rules and that users create variations of one name, so the same individual is likely behind them.20

Greek law enforcement seized several electronic devices from Varagiannis on April 5, 2024, and the results were shared with the FBI under a mutual legal assistance treaty. An Android device among them contained an image of a passport issued in the name Leonidas Varagiannis. The same passport image appeared in the records of a Google account registered under the name "War."21

Alleged role in 764 Inferno

The affidavit says that Varagiannis joined 764 in or around December 2023, used the monikers "mercyisweak" and "mercyisweak2," and was known within 764 Inferno as "War." It states that he resided in Greece throughout his participation in the enterprise and that he is a United States citizen.22 Access to 764 Inferno was reserved for an inner core invited by the leaders, a group that included Varagiannis, Nepal and a member known as "Fail." The affidavit states that the defendants controlled membership, posted instructions on how to exploit minors, and commented on the material members posted.23

The affidavit describes Lorebook, compilations of material taken from victims, as shared in 764 channels and used as currency. According to the affidavit, members earned invitations to Inferno and kept their position in the group by producing and sharing such content.24 The Justice Department release describes "cut signs" and "blood signs," content in which victims cut symbols into their bodies, and says that at least eight minor victims across multiple jurisdictions were exploited, with some content traced to children as young as 13.1

On August 28, 2024, Varagiannis posted what the affidavit calls purported rules for 764 Inferno, one of which read "no pedophilia." The affidavit states that the defendants nonetheless never removed links to Lorebooks containing child sexual abuse material and did not remove members who posted it.25 On September 13, 2024, he shared in a public 764 channel a guide that instructed recruits on creating content for the group. The affidavit states that the guide gave instructions on grooming, described targets as vulnerable, including people with depression or mental illness, and included a section on extortion.25

On August 26, 2024, when another member proposed "bringing back extortion," Varagiannis answered "go for it" and wrote that "only the best will get into inferno so everyone aware."26 In June 2024 the affidavit describes him complimenting a prospective member's content, which included a video of a purported suicide.26 The affidavit also describes direct messages he sent to a minor on an encrypted application in March 2024, in which he directed the minor's conduct during a video call.27

Images recovered from the Android device include graffiti reading "NLM" and a swastika on a white truck, and graffiti on a white SUV reading "Trippy," "War" and "T3n_mm." The affidavit states that a user named "WAR 764," marked as an admin, posted the truck image in 764 Inferno on March 4, 2024, after a message from "Trippy" asking that graffiti be posted so the group could see it.28

Relationship to Prasan Nepal

The indictment describes Varagiannis and Nepal as leaders of the 764 network who conspired to create and direct 764 and a group on an encrypted application called 764 Inferno, composed of core 764 members and leaders.29 It states that Inferno members distributed links to child sexual abuse material and self-harm material, which the members then used to extort the minors shown in it.29

The affidavit describes Nepal as having joined 764 around late 2020 or early 2021 and as having emerged as a leader after the arrest in August 2021 of a founder, identified as "Individual 1." It says that Nepal and Varagiannis, along with the member "Fail," controlled recruitment by deciding who could join, and that prospective members had to produce and share content to be recruited.30 The affidavit records both men as active in Inferno on the dates of several of the distribution events it describes.30

Baron Cain Martin

The superseding indictment against Baron Cain Martin in the District of Arizona (No. 4:25-cr-00190), filed October 29, 2025 in a version redacted for public disclosure, refers to his co-conspirators as "conspirators," "coconspirators," "Conspirator 1" and "others, known and unknown." The unredacted version was filed under seal.31 The Justice Department's October 31, 2025 release describes Martin as having conspired "with others."32

Footnotes

  1. U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, "Leaders of 764 Arrested and Charged for Operating Global Child Exploitation Enterprise," April 30, 2025, https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/leaders-764-arrested-and-charged-operating-global-child-exploitation-enterprise ↩︎

  2. Affidavit in Support of Criminal Complaint and Arrest Warrant, Special Agent Andrew Rust (FBI), sworn April 15, 2025, United States v. Prasan Nepal and Leonidas Varagiannis, No. 1:25-mj-00061-ZMF (D.D.C.), Doc. 1-1, paragraphs 1 to 5, https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553.1.1.pdf ↩︎

  3. Docket, United States v. Nepal, No. 1:25-mj-00061 (D.D.C.): motion to seal and order of April 15, 2025 (Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui); motion to unseal of April 29, 2025 and order of April 30, 2025 (Magistrate Judge Moxila A. Upadhyaya), https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71487411/united-states-v-nepal/ ↩︎

  4. Protothema, "Συνελήφθη στη Θεσσαλονίκη μέλος της οργάνωσης «764» για υποθέσεις παιδικής πορνογραφίας" (report of the Greek police statement), April 30, 2025, https://www.protothema.gr/greece/article/1632347/sunelifthi-sti-thessaloniki-melos-tis-organosis-764-gia-upotheseis-paidikis-pornografias-ton-anazitouse-i-interpol/ ↩︎

  5. Associated Press, "US citizen wanted in 'nihilistic' child sexual exploitation case arrested in Greece," April 30, 2025, https://www.aol.com/news/us-citizen-wanted-nihilistic-child-153301955.html (the same text appears at https://www.yahoo.com/news/greece-arrests-american-citizen-wanted-150153840.html). ↩︎

  6. Euronews, "US citizen faces extradition from Greece for alleged role in online child exploitation ring," May 1, 2025, reporting Associated Press material, https://euronews.com/my-europe/2025/05/01/us-citizen-faces-extradition-from-greece-for-alleged-role-in-online-child-exploitation-rin ↩︎

  7. Associated Press, "Greek court rejects extradition request for US national accused of running child exploitation site," July 9, 2025, Thessaloniki dateline, https://mynorthwest.com/world/greek-court-rejects-extradition-request-for-us-national-accused-of-running-child-exploitation-site/4108364 . ↩︎

  8. To Vima, "2 Suspects Arrested in Thessaloniki in Int'l Child Porn Investigation," October 17, 2025, https://www.tovima.com/society/2-suspects-arrested-in-thessaloniki-in-intl-child-porn-investigation/ . ↩︎

  9. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, "Leader of Global Violent Extremist Network '764' Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Sexually Exploit Minors," Press Release 26-1164, October 9, 2026, https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/leader-global-violent-extremist-network-764-pleads-guilty-conspiracy-sexually-exploit-minors ↩︎

  10. GreekReporter, "Greek-American Detained in Thessaloniki for US Extradition Over Child Exploitation," by John Koutroumpis, January 12, 2026, https://greekreporter.com/2026/01/12/greek-american-arrested-thessaloniki-child-exploitation/ . ↩︎

  11. Indictment, United States v. Prasan Nepal and Leonidas Varagiannis, No. 1:25-cr-00304-RBW (D.D.C.), Doc. 19, filed September 26, 2025, Count One paragraphs 53 to 59 and forfeiture allegation, https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.285418/gov.uscourts.dcd.285418.19.0.pdf ↩︎

  12. Docket, No. 1:25-cr-00304 (D.D.C.): Doc. 16, notice of withdrawal of counsel by Assistant U.S. Attorney John F. Korba, June 11, 2025, https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553.16.0.pdf ; general order assigning the case to Judge Reggie B. Walton, entry 21, September 30, 2025; indictment cover page reciting a grand jury sworn June 6, 2025, https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71487411/united-states-v-nepal/ ↩︎

  13. Affidavit, Doc. 1-1, paragraphs 18 and 29, https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553.1.1.pdf ↩︎

  14. Docket, United States v. Nepal, No. 1:25-cr-00304-RBW (D.D.C.), entries 19 to 48, September 26, 2025 to October 8, 2026, https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71487411/united-states-v-nepal/ ↩︎

  15. Information, United States v. Nepal, No. 1:25-cr-00304-RBW (D.D.C.), Doc. 43, dated October 5, 2026, docketed October 6, 2026, https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.285419/gov.uscourts.dcd.285419.43.0_1.pdf ↩︎

  16. Indictment, Doc. 19, paragraphs 10, 11, 13 and 17, https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.285418/gov.uscourts.dcd.285418.19.0.pdf ↩︎

  17. Indictment, Doc. 19, paragraphs 18, 20 and 22, https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.285418/gov.uscourts.dcd.285418.19.0.pdf ↩︎

  18. Indictment, Doc. 19, paragraphs 26, 29, 30, 35 to 39, 42, 45 and 49, https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.285418/gov.uscourts.dcd.285418.19.0.pdf ↩︎

  19. Indictment, Doc. 19, paragraphs 29 and 30 (definition of Lorebooks and means and methods), https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.285418/gov.uscourts.dcd.285418.19.0.pdf ↩︎

  20. Affidavit, Doc. 1-1, paragraphs 58 to 63 and 70 to 71, https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553.1.1.pdf ↩︎

  21. Affidavit, Doc. 1-1, paragraphs 64 and 65, https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553.1.1.pdf ↩︎

  22. Affidavit, Doc. 1-1, paragraphs 9 to 12, https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553.1.1.pdf ↩︎

  23. Affidavit, Doc. 1-1, paragraphs 6, 11 and 20, https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553.1.1.pdf ↩︎

  24. Affidavit, Doc. 1-1, paragraphs 7(c) to 7(e), https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553.1.1.pdf ↩︎

  25. Affidavit, Doc. 1-1, paragraphs 17 and 27 to 29, https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553.1.1.pdf ↩︎

  26. Affidavit, Doc. 1-1, paragraphs 21 and 25, https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553.1.1.pdf ↩︎

  27. Affidavit, Doc. 1-1, paragraphs 32 to 35, https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553.1.1.pdf . ↩︎

  28. Affidavit, Doc. 1-1, paragraphs 66 to 68, https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553.1.1.pdf ↩︎

  29. Indictment, Doc. 19, paragraphs 1 to 9, https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.285418/gov.uscourts.dcd.285418.19.0.pdf ↩︎

  30. Affidavit, Doc. 1-1, paragraphs 6, 9, 19 to 20 and 38 to 40, https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553.1.1.pdf ↩︎

  31. Superseding Indictment (Redacted for Public Disclosure), United States v. Martin, No. 4:25-cr-00190 (D. Ariz.), Doc. 53, filed October 29, 2025; sealed unredacted version, Doc. 54, https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.azd.1421217/gov.uscourts.azd.1421217.53.0_1.pdf ↩︎

  32. U.S. Department of Justice, OPA, "Arizona Leader of Violent Extremist Network '764' Charged with Running a Child Exploitation Enterprise, Supporting Terrorists, Producing and Distributing Child Pornography, and Other Crimes," October 31, 2025, https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/arizona-leader-violent-extremist-network-764-charged-running-child-exploitation-enterprise ↩︎