Online cult used Discord, Roblox to target children, force them to create porn—then told them to kill themselves

They are alleged to have instilled terror and fear into children on gaming platforms, blackmailing those children into creating and uploading exploitation videos. After making these horrific demands, the men told the children to kill themselves, and gave them instructions on how to do it.

The men used Discord, Roblox, and other gaming platforms to target minors as young as 11 years old. They were active on these platforms from 2019-2021. The men named in the indictment are Hector Bermudez, 29, of Queens, New York; Zachary Dosch, 26, of Albuquerque, New Mexico; Rumaldo Valdez, 22, of Honolulu, Hawaii; David Brilhante, 28, of San Diego, California; and Camden Rodriguez, 22, of Longmont, Colorado.

The DOJ states that "between January 2020 and January 2021, the defendants participated in the production and distribution of child sex abuse material and also engaged in other forms of exploitation and harassment of both minor and adult victims. The defendants and other members of the Greggy’s Cult convened on the Discord servers and directed minor victims, who had joined a video call on either Discord or another video conferencing platform, to engage in sexually explicit or other degrading conduct.

"The defendants and other members of Greggy’s Cult captured images (i.e. 'screenshots' or 'screen recordings') of the sexually explicit conduct and shared it to other Discord servers and amongst themselves. Greggy’s Cult came into existence before another sadistic extortion network, 764, and prominent members of 764 and other similar networks that followed were also members of Greggy’s Cult. The defendants coerced, induced, or enticed their victims to engage in acts of degradation such as self-harm, or professing the victim is 'owned' by a member of 'Greggy’s Cult' to demonstrate loyalty, or writing the names of 'Greggy’s Cult' members on their bodies referred to as 'fansigning.' The group found victims in Discord servers or on gaming platforms such as Roblox and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

"Greggy’s Cult engaged in depraved conduct such as repeatedly encouraging victims to kill themselves or encouraging them to insert household objects into their genitals or anus. The group also engaged in coordinated extortion of victims, both adults and minors, through various means including by attempting to frame adult victims as pedophiles or by sending malware to minor victims’ computers. The group then used this leverage to get the victims to engage in degrading acts on camera. Bermudez resided in the Eastern District of New York during the charged offenses."

"No child should ever be terrorized or exploited online, and no online platform should give refuge to predators," said AG Pam Bondi. "The Department of Justice will continue to protect children, support survivors, and hold accountable anyone who preys on the vulnerable – online or offline – with every tool we have."

"These five defendants allegedly targeted vulnerable children and others via online platforms – they exploited, threatened, and harassed them, and encouraged horrific acts of self-harm," said FBI Director Kash Patel. "The FBI is sending a message to those individuals involved in criminal activity through violent online networks: you can’t hide in the shadows hovering over a keyboard – we will find and hold accountable those who participate in these illegal and heinous acts."