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The_Info_Web/20 - ORGANIZATIONS/764 Inferno.md

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category tags start location created updated summary
Extremism & Violent Networks
NVE
NihilisticViolentExtremism
CSAM
ChildExploitation
FederalCase
TheComNetwork
Online
2022 Online (global) 2026-05-21 2026-10-09 764 Inferno is the elite inner cell of the 764 network operating a Lorebook CSAM economy, led by Leonidas Varagiannis and Prasan Nepal at the time of their April 2025 arrests, when they were charged in the District of Columbia with a child exploitation enterprise under 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(g).

764 Inferno is the elite inner cell of the 764 Network nihilistic violent extremist network, distinguished from the broader 764 ecosystem by its operation of the Lorebook economy, an internal currency system based on curated collections of CSAM coerced from victims. Inferno membership requires demonstrating capacity to produce CSAM through 764's coercion model and involves active trading of that material among members to establish and maintain rank. The cell was led by Leonidas Varagiannis (alias "War") and Prasan Nepal (alias "Trippy") at the time of their arrests in April 2025 on a complaint sworn in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, followed by a September 2025 indictment charging a child exploitation enterprise under 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(g).1 Baron Cain Martin (alias "Convict") was separately indicted in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona in October 2025; the public superseding indictment names no co-conspirators.2

Structure and Operations

764 Inferno functions as a gated hierarchy within 764's broader network of approximately 100 active members and hundreds of affiliated chatrooms (as documented in 2025 federal proceedings). Entry into Inferno requires demonstrating coercive capacity through the production of CSAM from new victims, with Lorebook holdings serving as the proof of membership criteria. Inferno members hold authority within the broader 764 ecosystem and direct lower-tier members toward target acquisition.

The network's exploitation model follows a documented escalation sequence: victims are initially recruited through social engineering into producing intimate photographs, then blackmailed with those images into producing self-harm footage (cut signs), then into more severe self-harm footage (blood signs), and in the most extreme documented cases, coerced toward suicidal acts. The footage produced at each stage becomes Lorebook material that the producing member uses to build their Inferno standing.3

Inferno operated across multiple platforms including Discord, Telegram, and encrypted messaging applications. Varagiannis and Nepal coordinated Inferno's activities from Greece, where Varagiannis resided in Thessaloniki, and North Carolina, where Nepal was arrested, with co-conspirators and victims internationally.4 The April 2025 complaint affidavit alleges that the defendants exploited at least eight minor victims, some as young as 13 years old.5

April 2025 Arrests

The FBI arrested Prasan Nepal in North Carolina on April 22, 2025.6 Leonidas Varagiannis was arrested in Thessaloniki, Greece on April 29, 2025, by Greek authorities acting on U.S. charges.5 A court in Thessaloniki rejected the U.S. extradition request on July 9, 2025, on the ground that he had applied for and was eligible to receive Greek citizenship, according to the Associated Press.7 Greek police announced a separate arrest of a 21-year-old Greek-American man in Thessaloniki on Greek charges in October 2025, which To Vima reported without naming him.8 The Justice Department's October 2026 release states that Varagiannis is held at Grevena Prison in northern Greece and is expected to be tried there within six months.9

The April 2025 complaint charged Nepal with one count under 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(g), and its affidavit lists predicate offenses of attempted sexual exploitation of a child, coercion and enticement of a minor, and conspiracy to distribute or receive child pornography.10 A grand jury in the District of Columbia returned a one-count indictment against both men on September 26, 2025, in No. 1:25-cr-00304, assigned to Judge Reggie B. Walton.111 On October 8, 2026, Nepal pleaded guilty before Judge Walton to conspiracy to commit sexual exploitation of a child, a charge carrying a minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years; sentencing is set for March 5, 2027.9

Multi-District Enforcement Coordination

764 Inferno's prosecution represents the DOJ's application of the child exploitation enterprise statute (18 U.S.C. § 2252A(g)) to the inner leadership structure of a nihilistic violent extremist network. The Inferno proceedings, the Martin indictment, and the Tony Christopher Long Eastern District of California case were coordinated components of the multi-district enforcement wave against 764 that produced nine federal arrests and charges between December 2024 and October 2025.

The Martin case added a terrorism count (material support for terrorism) alongside the Inferno-style exploitation enterprise charges, reflecting the DOJ's dual characterization of 764 as both a child exploitation enterprise and a nihilistic violent extremist network.12

Footnotes

  1. 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 and forfeiture allegation. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.285418/gov.uscourts.dcd.285418.19.0.pdf ↩︎

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

  3. ISD Global. "764: Networks of Harm." September 2025. https://www.isdglobal.org/isd-publications/764-networks-of-harm/; CNA Research. "764 and The Com: Misconceptions and Guidance." April 2026. ↩︎

  4. Affidavit in Support of Criminal Complaint and Arrest Warrant, Special Agent Andrew Rust (FBI), sworn April 15, 2025, No. 1:25-mj-00061-ZMF (D.D.C.), Doc. 1-1, paragraphs 10 and 20. https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553/gov.uscourts.dcd.279553.1.1.pdf ↩︎

  5. U.S. Department of Justice, USAO-DC. "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 ↩︎

  6. U.S. Department of Justice, OPA. "Leaders of 764 Arrested and Charged for Operating Global Child Exploitation Enterprise." April 2025. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/leaders-764-arrested-and-charged-operating-global-child-exploitation-enterprise ↩︎

  7. Associated Press, "Greek court rejects extradition request for US national accused of running child exploitation site," July 9, 2025. 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. United States v. Nepal, No. 1:25-mj-00061-ZMF (D.D.C.), Criminal Complaint and Affidavit, sworn April 15, 2025, paragraphs 9 and 18. https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/media/1398431/dl ↩︎

  11. CourtListener docket record for United States v. Nepal, No. 1:25-cr-00304 (D.D.C.). https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71487411/united-states-v-nepal/ ↩︎

  12. 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 ↩︎