The FBI has initiated an investigation into the violent online network known as “764,” with the agency scrutinizing over 350 individuals connected to this group, as disclosed by Fox News.

Characterized by the FBI as a “loosely organized” online collective, 764 reportedly manipulates minors and other vulnerable people into engaging in violent acts, self-harm, and sexual exploitation.

In a statement provided to Fox News, the FBI expressed ongoing concerns about these unstructured networks. These predators engage minors and vulnerable individuals on popular online platforms, coercing them into increasingly severe sexual and violent activities. Victims are often pushed to produce explicit content, child sexual abuse material (CSAM), or harm themselves and others. Some predators even watch live streams of self-harm and other violent acts.

To combat the influence of this violent network, the FBI is equipping staff in all field offices with specialized training. Moreover, the bureau is collaborating with both domestic and international law enforcement bodies to identify and prosecute those responsible.

FBI Director Kash Patel addressed the situation during a news conference at the Department of Justice, alongside Attorney General Pam Bondi, on Thursday, December 4, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C. announced in April that two alleged leaders of 764 were arrested and charged. Leonidas Varagiannis, also known as “War,” a U.S. citizen residing in Greece, and Prasan Nepal, also known as “Trippy,” of North Carolina, were charged for allegedly operating an international child exploitation enterprise. The two face life sentences if convicted.

“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,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement announcing Varagiannis and Nepal’s arrests. “We will find those who exploit and abuse children, prosecute them, and dismantle every part of their operation.”

The FBI has launched a sweeping probe of the violent online network known as “764.” (Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images)

In August, the FBI’s Los Angeles field office announced the arrest of a suspected 764 member.

The suspect, 27-year-old Dong Hwan Kim, was accused by several minor females of coercing them into sending him videos and photos of themselves engaging in sexual acts, according to FBI Los Angeles. After enticing the underage girls into making child sexual abuse material (CSAM), Kim would allegedly demand they send more explicit content and threaten to send naked photographs to the victims’ family and others or post them online.

The FBI Los Angeles field office noted that in a search, agents found several CSAM videos and photos in the suspect’s possession, as well as evidence that he shared the content with others. Kim was charged with possession of child pornography and faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and ranking member Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., listen to testimony by FBI Director Kash Patel during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing titled “Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation,” in Hart building on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025.  (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

On Dec. 9, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Ranking Member Dick Durbin, D-Ill., introduced three bills targeting sentencing laws, violent online criminal networks and child sextortion. 

One of the bills, known as the Ending Coercion of Children and Harm Online Act (ECCHO Act), would create a “penalty of up to life in prison if the offense involves the actual or attempted suicide by the victim or the death of another person, as well as a 30-year maximum penalty for harmful conduct that does not involve a death,” according to a statement from Grassley’s office.

In addition to the ECCHO Act, the senators also introduced the Sentencing Accountability for Exploitation Act (SAFE Act) and the Stop Sextortion Act. The SAFE Act aims to change sentencing guidelines for CSAM so it “accounts for modern indicators of especially dangerous conduct.” The Stop Sextortion Act would target offenders who “threaten to distribute CSAM to intimidate, extort or coerce children.” Under the bill, the maximum penalty for these offenses would be increased from five to 10 years.