Charges Announced Against Member of Online Cybercriminal Group “Purgatory” for Placing Swatting Calls to Universities; Victims Asked to Contact FBI

PHILADELPHIA - United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that charges have been filed against a juvenile[1] following a rash of swatting calls aimed at universities and other institutions in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and elsewhere in August 2025.

A "swatting call" is a hoax call made to emergency services typically reporting an immediate threat to human life. The goal of the caller is to draw a response from law enforcement-and specifically a special weapons and tactics ("SWAT") team-to the victim's location. In the most egregious cases, the party responsible reports a crime of violence or an impending crime of violence to have heavily armed law enforcement dispatched to apprehend the victim of the call. Perpetrators frequently place swatting calls to harass rivals or to raise their profile within their online communities by demonstrating a willingness to cause havoc and terrorize unsuspecting victims.

The defendant in this case was a self-identified member of the cybercriminal group "Purgatory." The defendant selected the victim institutions at random and was not affiliated with any of those institutions.

Recently, swatting calls have become an increasingly common crime. Swatting calls waste valuable resources for local police departments and first responders who are responsible for responding to the calls believing there is an actual and immediate threat. The perpetrators are often part of online cybercriminal communities and believe that they will not be caught or punished. They are wrong. Federal law enforcement will investigate and prosecute these crimes regardless of who commits them or where they reside.

The FBI and the prosecutors in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania are legally mandated to identify and inform victims of the federal crimes they investigate. Victim institutions who were subjected to the conduct that underlies the charges in this case will be provided with a method for contacting the FBI.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Radnor Township Police Department, Pennsylvania State Police, and Upper Merion Police Department, and assisted by dozens of state, local, and university police departments, ambulance companies, fire companies, and other first responders in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and across the country.

The charges and allegations are merely accusations. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.