Federal prosecutors announced on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, that a Queens man and four other individuals linked to a disturbing online cult terrorized and blackmailed children on gaming platforms, coercing them into performing sexual acts on camera and instructing them to kill themselves.
Five Leaders of ‘Greggy’s Cult’ Charged with Sexually Exploiting Children on the Internet: Defendants Allegedly Produced and Distributed Child Sex Abuse Materials and Extorted Minor and Adult Victims https://t.co/LZz3uMKzo0@NewYorkFBI pic.twitter.com/5S4lOV0Ovv
— FBI (@FBI) December 3, 2025
The group, known as “Greggy’s Cult,” operated from 2019 to 2021, targeting children as young as 11 using Discord, Roblox, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.
Hector Bermudez, 29, from Queens, was arrested and arraigned in federal court on Tuesday.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York detailed the group’s activities, which involved exploiting children nationwide.
“No child should ever be terrorized or exploited online, and no online platform should give refuge to predators,” U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement.
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“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.”
According to court documents, the suspects conducted video calls on these digital platforms, forcing children to perform sexually explicit acts, sometimes using household objects.
The group recorded or screenshot these acts and shared them online or among themselves.
Victims were further coerced into marking their bodies with cult members’ names and creating videos where they begged for forgiveness, declaring themselves “owned” to demonstrate loyalty.
The accused continued their scheme by urging several victims to take their own lives, including one instance where a child was told to overdose or hang themselves from a ceiling fan.
Authorities revealed that the cult employed malware to lock minors out of their computers until they complied with the group’s demands.
The youngest victim identified in the case was 11 years old.
The investigation uncovered a pattern of exploitation that spanned multiple states, with the FBI and NYPD collaborating to dismantle the operation.
In addition to Bermudez, the federal indictment named 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.
Valdez is currently serving a sentence for another federal case.
Each suspect faces charges of sexual exploitation of a minor, distribution of child pornography, access with intent to view child pornography, and conspiracy to communicate interstate threats.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch commented on the case, stating, “This case underscores how easily predators can embed themselves in the digital platforms that minors use.”
She added, “The NYPD and our federal partners have been focused on uncovering and dismantling online groups that prey on children, and today’s indictment reflects the progress of that work.”
The FBI has opened a hotline, 1-800-CALL-FBI, encouraging potential victims to come forward.
Prosecutors noted that the investigation remains ongoing, with additional evidence being reviewed.
The court documents provide a detailed account of the group’s methods, including the use of gaming networks to target vulnerable children.
The case has drawn attention to the risks posed by online platforms, with law enforcement emphasizing their commitment to addressing such crimes.
