The Department of Justice has charged five men accused of running an online “child exploitation enterprise” called “Greggy’s Cult” that allegedly used Discord servers as a platform from which to blackmail minors into committing “horrific acts of self-harm” on web cams.
The five men – Hector Bermudez, 29, of Queens, New York; David Brilhante, 28, of San Diego, California; Zachary Dosch, 26, of Albuquerque, New Mexico; Camden Rodriguez, 22, of Longmont, Colorado; and Rumaldo Valdez, 22, of Honolulu, Hawaii – were arrested Tuesday and will be arraigned in the Eastern District of New York at a later date, according to the DOJ.
Federal prosecutors have charged the quintet with “conspiracy to produce child pornography, conspiracy to receive and distribute child pornography, and conspiracy to communicate interstate threats.”
The prosecutors said the defendants first met on Discord and allegedly engaged in the “production and distribution of child sex abuse material” between January 2020 and January 2021, often finding their victims on gaming platforms like Roblox and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.
The members of Greggy’s Cult are accused of inviting targets into video conference calls and then encouraging them to engage in “sexually explicit or other degrading conduct,” which they could then screenshot for their own amusement or retain as fodder for future blackmail threats.
They would also allegedly threaten to frame their adult victims as pedophiles or tell minors they would hit their devices with malware to corner them into cooperating with their degrading demands on camera.
“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,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement.
“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.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi added that “no child should ever be terrorized or exploited online, and no online platform should give refuge to predators.
“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.”
Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Galeotti of the DOJ’s Criminal Division said the defendants were charged with an “unspeakable act of coercing and blackmailing children and adults to engage in self-harm and other degrading acts.”
U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella Jr called the alleged conduct “monstrous” and revealed that some of the victims of Greggy’s Cult were “at times driven to the brink of suicide.”
If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call the National Suicide Prevention Helpline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you.
