FBI warns of online extremist network with Plano ties in North Texas

Federal investigators have elevated 764 to a national-security threat, and one of the name most likely to draw attention in Collin County is Austin Jan Sy Yatco, a former Plano resident now on the FBI’s Most Wanted list with a reward of up to $25,000. The Texas-based network began in Stephenville in 2021, and federal officials say its reach now includes North Texas, where it is using social media and online gaming to target minors.

FBI Dallas said in a May 12 open letter that violent online networks such as 764 operate in North Texas and around the world, and that the bureau is investigating more than 450 subjects tied to these groups. The FBI said members often contact minors on gaming and social media platforms, pose as friends, and then coerce them into harming themselves or others. Investigators also said the groups use blackmail, threats, doxxing, swatting and vandalism to keep victims under control.

Yatco, who the FBI says was born Aug. 27, 1998, in San Pedro, Laguna, Philippines, has ties to Plano and is believed to be living in the Philippines. The federal arrest warrant against him was issued Jan. 23, 2026, in the Eastern District of New York. The FBI says he is wanted for alleged involvement in the exploitation of minor victims between 2019 and 2021, and that the minors were allegedly coerced into creating child pornography that was then distributed within the online group. The bureau also says Yatco, who goes by Hairy Lips, has black hair and brown eyes, is 5-foot-7 and 149 pounds, speaks English and Tagalog, and has a computer science degree with work experience in the technology sector.

The Justice Department has described 764 as an international child-exploitation enterprise with accelerationist goals, including social unrest and the downfall of the current world order, including the U.S. government. Prosecutors said arrests on April 29, 2025, of Leonidas Varagiannis, also known as War, and Prasan Nepal, also known as Trippy, marked a significant takedown, and on Dec. 19, 2025, DOJ said a San Antonio-based member pleaded guilty to racketeering and child-exploitation charges.

For parents, teachers and school leaders in Plano, Frisco, McKinney and across Collin County, the warning signs are now tied to a very specific pattern: strangers making contact in gaming or social apps, quickly building trust, then using threats, blackmail or public humiliation to pressure a child. The FBI is urging families and local law enforcement to stay alert and submit tips through its tipline or local field offices, as investigators say the threat is no longer fringe, but active, organized and close to home.