‘Left here holding the bag’: Former Eric Adams aide is sentenced after mayor’s case is dismissed
NYC Mayor Eric Adams listens as names of the victims of the 9/11 terror attack are read during the annual 9/11 Commemoration Ceremony at the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum, Sept. 11, 2025, in New York. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — A federal judge in New York on Tuesday sentenced Mohamed Bahi, the only member of Mayor Eric Adams’ administration convicted in an illegal donations scheme, to three years’ probation, including the first year under home confinement, after the Trump Justice Department forced the same judge to dismiss a criminal case against the mayor himself that involved the same scheme.
The sentence is less than prosecutors sought but the judge concluded Bahi was less culpable than his boss.
“It is hard to escape the impression that Mr. Bahi is left here holding the bag,” U.S. District Judge Dale Ho said, calling the dismissal of the charges against the mayor the “elephant in the room.”
Someone in the courtroom gallery briefly clapped when Judge Ho questioned a prosecutor about the decision to toss the case against Adams, which the Trump administration said was necessary to free him to cooperate with the president’s immigration agenda.
“What am I to make of a person above him, the mayor, had his indictment against him dismissed?” Ho asked.
The prosecutor, Rob Sobelman, urged the judge to “focus on Bahi,” who he said “committed a series of serious criminal acts” that warranted prison time beyond the zero-to-six month sentence called for by federal sentencing guidelines.
“We are not seeking a lengthy period of incarceration but a modest one is appropriate here,” Sobelman said.
Bahi, 40, served as a Muslim liaison at New York City Hall until his 2024 arrest. He pleaded guilty to a conspiracy count for his role in the illegal donations scheme, telling donors to lie to the FBI and to deleting Signal from his phone as agents arrived to search him.
“Straw donor schemes like this are a serious offense,” Judge Ho said. “This is not the kind of conduct that merits a slap on the wrist.”
“Standing here today is painful but necessary,” Bahi told the judge. “I accept full responsibility for my actions.”
Bahi was the second person charged in the fundraising scheme to plead guilty after a businessman, Erden Arkan, admitted he laundered straw donations. Arkan was sentenced to probation.
The defense sought a year’s probation for Bahi, downplaying his role in the scheme.
“It’s a far cry from careful planning and execution,” defense attorney Derek Adams said. “This wasn’t some grand scheme of Bahi’s to get Adams elected.”
The scheme was outlined in the now-defunct indictment against Mayor Adams that alleged bribery and fraud offenses. Adams denied seeking and accepting straw donations that would help him reach the threshold for public matching funds for the 2021 campaign.
The directive to drop the case against the mayor prompted the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Danielle Sassoon, to resign her position in protest. She has since joined a law firm started by former Solicitor General Paul Clement.
Mayor Adams celebrated the dismissal of the indictment but his political career did not recover. He dropped his bid for reelection and will leave office on Jan. 1 when mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is sworn in.
The U.S. Department of Justice is seen on September 26, 2025 in Washington, D.C. Samuel Corum/Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department has indicted a former Navy petty officer and four others for allegedly leading an online extortion group that authorities say later helped spawn the global extremist network known as “764,” which the FBI now describes as “modern day terrorism” for its sadistic and violent tormenting of teens online.
An indictment unsealed Tuesday alleges that the earlier group, calling themselves “Greggy’s Cult,” engaged in a criminal enterprise that pushed young victims they found online to create child pornography, and then blackmailed them into engaging in self-harm, “masochistic abuse,” and other extreme “acts of degradation” — live on camera — simply for “the enjoyment of members of the Enterprise.”
Between January 2020 and January 2021, members of the group allegedly worked together “to find and recruit minor victims on Discord or online gaming platforms,” and even urged victims as young as 11 to abuse their siblings and to kill themselves, telling one minor victim to overdose on medication or hang themself from a ceiling fan, the indictment alleges.
Members of “Greggy’s Cult” would host sexually explicit “live events” with victims on Discord and record the sessions, using those recordings to then blackmail victims into engaging in even more extreme acts, according to the indictment.
The indictment charges 22-year-old Camden Rodriguez of Longmont, Colorado; 22-year-old Rumaldo Valdez of Honolulu, Hawaii; 26-year-old Zachary Dosch of Albuquerque, New Mexico; 28-year-old David Brilhante of San Diego, California; and 29-year-old Hector Bermudez of New York with a total of 10 counts related to engaging in a child exploitation enterprise, producing child pornography, and making threats across state lines. Not all five men face all 10 counts.
They were arrested on Tuesday throughout the United States, according to the Justice Department.
The top federal prosecutor in Brooklyn, New York, where the indictment was filed, called their alleged conduct “depraved” and “monstrous.”
“I strongly urge parents and caregivers to have conversations with their children about the dangers of communicating online with strangers and individuals who seek to cruelly exploit them,” the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Joseph Nocella Jr., said in a statement.
For much of the past year, federal authorities have been issuing similar warnings about online predators operating much like “Greggy’s Cult,” especially members of the online extremist network 764, who often extort young victims into self-harm but also desensitize them with neo-Nazi or other extremist propaganda and push victims to commit extreme acts of violence against others, including mass shootings.
Members of “Greggy’s Cult” became “prominent members of 764,” the Justice Department said on Tuesday.
The 764 network was started in late 2020 or early 2021 by Bradley Cadenhead, a 15-year-old in Stephenville, Texas, who named it after the first three digits of his local ZIP code. He later pleaded guilty to child pornography-related charges and is serving an 80-year prison sentence in a Texas state prison.
In the midst of his case, Cadenhead told a clinical psychologist that after starting 764 he emulated “Greggy’s Cult” because it received so much media attention for blackmailing people into self-harm, but that 764 was meant to “take it to a whole different level … a lot worse,” according to court documents filed in the case.
Since then, according to authorities, 764 has grown into more of an ideology than a singular group, inspiring offshoots and subgroups around the world that mirror 764 but use different names to help keep social media companies and law enforcement from tracking them.
Testifying to a Senate panel in September, FBI Director Kash Patel described 764 as “modern day terrorism in America.”
As ABC News has previously reported, the FBI is conducting more than 350 investigations across the United States tied to 764 and similar networks. Even before the latest indictment, the Justice Department had publicly charged at least 30 people in recent years with suspected ties to 764 or affiliated networks.
Two of those previously charged were Valdez and Dosch, who were both named in the indictment unsealed in New York on Tuesday.
Valdez was first arrested by the FBI in May on separate charges filed in Hawaii, where he had been serving as a petty officer at a Naval station in Wahiawa. He recently pleaded guilty to one child pornography-related charge in that case, but he is now facing new charges.
Dosch was first arrested by federal authorities in June 2021 on separate charges filed in New Mexico. A year later, he pleaded guilty to cyberstalking and child pornography-related charges, admitting in court that he coerced minors online into self-harm and sexual activity, and he was released pending sentencing.
However, as of Tuesday — three years later — Dosch had yet to be sentenced in that case. It’s unclear why his sentencing never happened.
But charging documents filed against Valdez in May said that an unnamed member of an online group — identified to ABC News as “Greggy’s Cult” — had provided the FBI with information about the conduct of Valdez and others on Discord.
An attorney representing Dosch declined to comment when contacted by ABC News.
In a recent statement to ABC News, a Discord representative said the service is “committed to user safety” and that the “horrific actions of groups like this have no place on Discord or anywhere in society.”
According to a Discord spokesperson, the platform invests “heavily” in specialized teams and newly-developed artificial intelligence tools that can “disrupt these networks, remove violative content, and take action against bad actors on our platform.” Discord also said it shares intelligence with other platforms, which can help identify bad actors even before Discord has spotted them.
Discord also said it cooperates with law enforcement, proactively providing tips and other information to them, and quickly responds to subpoenas.
According to court documents, Discord’s tips have led to many arrests, including the arrest of Cadenhead, the Texas teen who started 764, and Dosch’s initial arrest in 2021.
Dosch and the other four men charged in the latest indictment will appear in federal court in New York at a later date, according to the Justice Department.
Attorneys for Valdez, Bermudez and Rodriguez did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News. As of Wednesday morning, it was unclear if Brilhante had been assigned an attorney.
(NEW YORK) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced Sunday he is suspending his campaign for mayor, just weeks away from the closely watched election.
Adams announced his decision in a video on X.
The mayor, running as an independent, resisted calls to drop out previously from opponents of Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, who were concerned he and independent candidate former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who lost the Democratic primary and is running as an independent, would split the vote.
Adams has been polling behind Mamdani, Cuomo and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa.
ABC News previously reported that it is too late for Adams’s name to be removed from the ballot. His name will remain, as will fellow long shot candidate Jim Walden, who also suspended his campaign and last week endorsed Cuomo.
Adams’ decision follows an order Friday from the Manhattan federal judge who oversaw Adams’ criminal case.
Judge Dale Ho agreed to add the city’s Campaign Finance Board as an interested party in the now-dismissed corruption matter. The CFB asked to be added so it could review the case before deciding whether to award matching funds to the Adams campaign.
The judge’s order granting the request made clear to the mayor and his campaign advisers that it would be unlikely they would receive public money to match the nearly $4 million Adams has raised.
Adams was indicted in September 2024 on five counts in an alleged long-standing conspiracy connected to what prosecutors said were improper benefits, illegal campaign contributions and an attempted coverup.
The charges against the mayor — including counts of wire fraud, conspiracy, bribery and solicitation of a contribution from a foreign entity — were dropped against him in April by the U.S. Justice Department in what his critics claimed was a quid pro quo with the Trump administration.
Adams and the Justice Department denied there was a quid pro quo involved in the dropping of the charges.
Advisers for President Donald Trump had been in contact with Adams to persuade him to drop out of the race and offered him positions in the administration, including an ambassador post in Saudi Arabia, sources told ABC News.
Trump and Adams both denied reports of those meetings. However, Trump has been vocal that candidates should drop out to limit the number of challengers against Mamdani.
Adams said in his announcement he could not continue his bid because of what he said was media speculation and funds withheld by the CFB “have undermined my ability to raise the funds needed for a serious campaign.”
“When I was elected to serve as your mayor, I said these words: This campaign was never about me. It was about the people of this city — from every neighborhood and background — who had been left behind and believed they would never catch up. This campaign was for the underserved, the marginalized, the abandoned and betrayed by government,” Adams said in the video.
“Since then, it has been my honor to be your mayor. And I am proud to say that we took that victory four years ago and turned it into action — making this city better for those who had been failed by government.”
Adams also indicated he will serve out the rest of his term in office.
“Although this is the end of my reelection campaign, it is not the end of my public service. I will continue to fight for this city — as I have for 40 years, since the day I joined the NYPD to make our streets safer and our systems fairer,” he said.
Adams did not endorse any candidate for mayor in his announcement.
Mamdani wrote in a statement reacting to Adams’ withdrawal, “Donald Trump and his billionaire donors might be able to determine Eric Adams and Andrew Cuomo’s actions but they will not dictate the results of this election. New York deserves better than trading in one disgraced, corrupt politician for another. On November 4th, we are going to turn the page on the politics of big money and small ideas and deliver a government every New Yorker can be proud of.”
Cuomo said in a statement Sunday that Adams’s choice to drop out “was not an easy one, but I believe he is sincere in putting the well-being of New York City ahead of personal ambition.”
“We face destructive extremist forces that would devastate our city through incompetence or ignorance, but it is not too late to stop them,” Cuomo wrote.
The former governor added, “Mayor Adams has much to be proud of in his accomplishments. Only in New York can a child raised in a tenement in Bushwick, who once worked as a squeegee boy and a mailroom clerk, rise to become mayor. Whatever differences we may have, Eric Adams’ story is undeniably one of resilience — a testament to the spirit of this city.”
A spokesperson for Sliwa wrote, “Curtis Sliwa is the only candidate who can defeat Mamdani. Our team, our resources, and our funding are unmatched. Most importantly, we have the best solutions to help working people afford to stay in New York City and feel safe.”
City Hall staff members were informed of the mayor’s decision just a few moments before the campaign released Adams’ statement. Adams gave no indication that he has a job lined up after he leaves office. A source close to the mayor was unaware of a job being offered.
A sign marks the location of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) headquarters building on April 30, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Photo by J. David Ake/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department has filed terrorism charges against an Arizona man for his alleged role in the growing network of online predators known as “764,” whose worldwide followers use social media platforms to target, groom and push young teens into harming themselves and others.
An indictment unsealed Thursday in Arizona charged 21-year-old Baron Martin of Tucson with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, marking the first time that the Justice Department has leveled such charges against an alleged member of 764.
The move does not mean that the U.S. government has formally designated 764 as a terrorist organization like ISIS or Al-Qaeda, but it does signify that the government believes members of 764 engage in “terrorist activity” under U.S. law.
Martin was first arrested in December and indicted on three counts of cyberstalking and producing sexually explicit material of children. He pleaded not guilty to those charges.
The indictment unsealed Thursday adds 26 more charges, alleging that he was deeply involved in a “sadistic and masochistic” conspiracy to “systematically and methodically target” vulnerable teenagers who can be pushed into cutting themselves with sharp objects, creating sexually explicit and gore-filled videos and photos, torturing animals, or even killing themselves — all while on camera.
According to the indictment, while using 15 different monikers, Martin hosted and ran “group chats” associated with 764 on social media platforms, controlling access to them and making demands of victims, some of whom were extorted into participating.
The indictment cites nine specific victims who were allegedly targeted by Martin, ranging in age from 11 to 18.
In 2022, he allegedly forced a 13-year-old girl overseas to carve one of his online monikers — “Convict” — and other symbols on her body, causing “permanent disfigurement.” And, live on a video call with 15 others, he allegedly forced the girl to let her family dog attack her family’s hamster, and then he and the others made the victim stomp on the hamster’s head and feed it to the dog, while also recording it to share with even more people, the indictment says.
Also in 2022, after Martin got into an online dispute with another 13-year-old girl, he allegedly threatened to kill her grandmother — vowing that it would “send a message” — and he offered to pay someone $3,000 to commit the murder, according to the indictment and other court documents. He also allegedly “conducted a live extortion” of an 18-year-old overseas, who, after being repeatedly told to kill herself, was forced to cut a symbol into her forehead — after which Martin then allegedly shared a photo online of the girl’s bloody face.
In other court proceedings, federal prosecutors said that Martin also “participated in bomb threats, swatting and doxing campaigns, and alleged kidnappings.”
“This man’s alleged crimes are unthinkably depraved and reflect the horrific danger of 764,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. “I urge parents to remain vigilant about the threats their children face online.”
In addition to one count of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists, the indictment unsealed Thursday charges Martin with conspiring to maim someone in a foreign country, seeking murder for hire, promoting and distributing animal torture material, and numerous child exploitation-related charges, including taking part in a child exploitation enterprise.
Authorities say that one of the main goals of 764 and similar networks is to sow chaos and bring down society.
They try to accomplish this by first befriending vulnerable teens online and then convincing them to share sexually explicit images or videos of themselves, experts say. That sexually explicit material is then used to blackmail victims into increasingly violent actions, and it escalates from there — with victims’ family members or pets threatened if victims stop complying.
Victims routinely end up being coerced into carving their tormentor’s online monikers into their own skin, mutilating themselves in other ways, attacking or threatening others, or torturing animals — all while capturing it on camera, so the videos or photos can be shared with others to boost one’s status within 764.
Predators also routinely promote neo-Nazi ideology, ISIS propaganda, and school shootings, desensitizing vulnerable teens to violence, authorities say.
Since the launch of the initial 764 group nearly five years ago — when the 15-year-old Texas boy who started it named it after the first three digits of his ZIP code — authorities say 764 has become a global movement, with an ever-expanding network of offshoots and subgroups that often rebrand and change their names to help keep social media companies and law enforcement from tracking them.
The FBI’s Counterterrorism Division and the Justice Department’s National Security Division are now looking at 764 and its offshoots as a potential form of domestic terrorism, even coining a new term to characterize the most heinous actors: “nihilistic violent extremists.”
Last month, FBI Director Kash Patel told a Senate panel that fighting 764 is now “a priority” within the FBI.
“We’re going after the new form of what I refer to as modern day terrorism in America, 764 crimes that involve harming our children by going after them online, causing self-mutilation, suicide, sexual abuse and steering them in the wrong direction,” Patel said before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
According to the FBI, federal authorities have now opened investigations into more than 300 people suspected of ties to 764 or its offshoots across the country, with each subject under investigation potentially having victimized multiple young teens.
