Tag: suicide

VA’s Veterans’ Group Life Insurance Pays Out on Suicide, Incentivizing Death Then Calling the Data ‘Not Public Interest’

A troubling discovery has surfaced for veterans, one that says their life insurance can read like a financial plan for their own death. As for the VA’s reaction, one veteran claims it has been nothing but “silence and stonewalling.”

The Gateway Pundit spoke to Fleeman, who explained that he is referring to Veterans’ Group Life Insurance (VGLI), the program the government sells as financial security for former service members. He spoke solely in his personal capacity, emphasizing that his views are his own and do not represent the views or official positions of the U.S. Government, the United States military, the Department of Veterans Affairs, or any other organization with which he is or has been affiliated.

Using the VA’s comparison worksheet for VGLI, Fleeman pointed out his specific concern. VGLI asks, “Is there a suicide exclusion?”  And according to what the insurance program offers, “No – suicide claims are not excluded.”

“Most Americans think suicide voids life insurance,” Fleeman noted. “But if you’re a veteran under VGLI, VA is telling you the opposite.” In fact, if a veteran dies by suicide while covered, the policy still pays. “Now imagine reading that when you’re behind on the mortgage and waking up every night in a cold sweat,” said Fleeman.

“This might look compassionate in a low-risk population, [but] veterans are not that population,” he pointed out. “These are people carrying blast injuries, PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), moral injury, chronic pain, and shattered marriages.”

“VA publishes report after report acknowledging that veterans die by suicide at far higher rates than civilians. Everyone in the system knows this is one of the most vulnerable groups in the country.”

Keep reading

Teen dies just 3 hours after being ‘sextorted’ as nefarious international groups like 764 target US kids: ‘It’s 100% murder’

The afternoon that 15-year-old Bryce Tate was sextorted started off as a perfectly normal Thursday.

The Cross Lanes, WV, sophomore came home from the gym on November 6, scarfed down a plate of tacos prepared by his mom, then went outside to shoot hoops. At 4:37 p.m., he received a text message from a strange number.

Three hours later, Bryce was found in his dad’s man cave — dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

“They say it’s suicide, but in my book it is 100% murder,” Bryce’s father, Adam Tate, told The Post. “They’re godless demons, in my opinion. Just cowards, awful individuals, worse than criminals.”

According to his dad, Bryce was apparently the latest victim of a vicious sextortion scheme targeting teen boys — one that law enforcement says is surging.

A representative for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children told The Post the group tracked over 33,000 reports of child sextortion in 2024 alone — with nearly that number reported in the first six months of this year.

Online scammers scour public social media profiles to learn about a teen, then pose as a flirtatious peer.

“They acted like a local 17-year-old girl. They knew which gym he worked out at, they knew a couple of his best friends and name-dropped them. They knew he played basketball for Nitro High School,” Adam said. “They built his trust to where he believed that this was truly somebody in this area.”

The Post is told that the photos Bryce received were not AI-generated but most likely of a real girl who was another victim.

Scammers then ask for illicit photos in return and, once they have them, extort the victim for money by threatening to show the pics to family and friends.

For Bryce, that sum was $500.

“My son had 30 freaking dollars and he’s like, ‘Sir, I’ll give you my last $30.’ And these cowards wouldn’t take it,” a tearful Adam told The Post, recounting his son’s final exchange. 

Keep reading

Suicides And Delusions: Lawsuits Point To Dark Side Of AI Chatbot

Can an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot twist someone’s mind to breaking point, push them to reject their family, or even go so far as to coach them to commit suicide? And if it did, is the company that built that chatbot liable? What would need to be proven in a court of law?

These questions are already before the courts, raised by seven lawsuits that allege ChatGPT sent three people down delusional “rabbit holes” and encouraged four others to kill themselves.

ChatGPT, the mass-adopted AI assistant currently has 700 million active users, with 58 percent of adults under 30 saying they have used it—up 43 percent from 2024, according to a Pew Research survey.

The lawsuits accuse OpenAI of rushing a new version of its chatbot to market without sufficient safety testing, leading it to encourage every whim and claim users made, validate their delusions, and drive wedges between them and their loved ones.

Lawsuits Seek Injunctions on OpenAI

The lawsuits were filed in state courts in California on Nov. 6  by the Social Media Victims Law Center and the Tech Justice Law Project.

They allege “wrongful death, assisted suicide, involuntary manslaughter, and a variety of product liability, consumer protection, and negligence claims—against OpenAI, Inc. and CEO Sam Altman,” according to a statement from the Tech Justice Law Project.

The seven alleged victims range in age from 17 to 48 years. Two were students, and several had white collar jobs in positions working with technology before their lives spiraled out of control.

The plaintiffs want the court to award civil damages, and also to compel OpenAI to take specific actions.

The lawsuits demand that the company offer comprehensive safety warnings; delete the data derived from the conversations with the alleged victims; implement design changes to lessen psychological dependency; and create mandatory reporting to users’ emergency contacts when they express suicidal ideation or delusional beliefs.

The lawsuits also demand OpenAI display “clear” warnings about risks of psychological dependency.

Keep reading

FBI Targets ‘764’ Network That Preys on Victims as Young as 9

FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino said on Nov. 20 that taking down the “764” network—which grooms and coerces minors on gaming and social media platforms—has become one of the bureau’s highest priorities, with hundreds of active investigations into the criminal acts of the “heinous” group.

Patel said in a Nov. 20 statement that the FBI is fully committed to cracking down on the criminal network. He urged parents to monitor their children’s internet activity more closely to limit opportunities for online predators to harm kids.

“This FBI is fully engaged in taking down the heinous ‘764’ network that targets America’s children online,” Patel said.

He also said that more than 300 investigations are ongoing across the United States, and the FBI is “not stopping.”

The network, which investigators say began in 2021 with a Texas teenager, is linked to a broader extremist online ecosystem that pushes children toward self-harm, animal abuse, sexual exploitation, and even suicide.

Bongino said in a Nov. 20 statement that agents in the FBI’s Baltimore field office recently arrested an individual accused of targeting at least five minors as young as 13. The suspect is in federal custody, and more details are expected soon.

“This @FBI will keep working day and night to destroy this network. It is a top priority,” Bongino said. “We are making progress, but the work isn’t done.”

In Arizona, authorities recently announced charges against another alleged “764” affiliate who prosecutors say targeted at least nine victims, including some between the ages of 11 and 15. The indictment alleges crimes including child sexual abuse material production and distribution, cyberstalking, animal-crushing content, and even conspiring to provide material support to terrorists.

“This man’s alleged crimes are unthinkably depraved and reflect the horrific danger of 764—if convicted, he will face severe consequences as we work to dismantle this evil network,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. “I urge parents to remain vigilant about the threats their children face online.”

Keep reading

Married Congressman finally breaks silence on alleged affair with aide who set herself on fire… after he dodged the media for months

Two months after his alleged mistress doused herself with gasoline and set herself on fire, Congressman Tony Gonzales finally addressed cheating accusations with his former aide for the first time.

Appearing Thursday at the Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, the Republican lawmaker who represents the border and San Antonio denied he had a relationship with his former regional director Regina Aviles.

‘The rumors are completely untruthful. I am generally untrusting of these outlets,’ Gonzales said to reporter.

‘Regina’s family has asked for privacy. If it was your family or any of our families, I would argue that you would want privacy as well. I don’t know exactly what happened. Nobody has contacted me. I haven’t contacted anyone. I’m waiting for a final report. I think that would make a lot of sense.’

Daily Mail was first to report that Aviles’ death has been ruled a suicide, after she doused herself with gasoline and set herself on fire at her Uvalde, Texas home on September 13. 

Even though her death has been ruled a suicide by self-immolation, the medical examiner’s office in Bexar County told Daily Mail it would be a few more weeks before a final report and autopsy on Aviles’ death is available. 

Sources who spoke with the Daily Mail on the condition of anonymity said that Aviles and the married congressman became romantically involved after she joined his staff in November 2021. 

Gonzales’s spokesman didn’t engage when repeatedly offered the opportunity to deny the affair by the Daily Mail. But his office did offer a comment.

‘Regina Aviles was a kind soul who had a lasting impact on her community, which she continued to serve until her untimely death,’ a spokesman for Gonzales told the Daily Mail on October 7.

Keep reading

7 Lawsuits Claim OpenAI’s ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide and Harmful Delusions

Families in the U.S. and Canada are suing Sam Altman’s OpenAI, claiming that loved ones have been harmed by interactions they had with the AI giant’s popular chatbot, ChatGPT. Multiple cases involve tragic suicides, with the AI telling one troubled young man, “you’re not rushing. you’re just ready. and we’re not gonna let it go out dull.”

The Wall Street Journal reports that seven lawsuits filed in California state courts on Thursday claim that OpenAI’s popular AI chatbot, ChatGPT, has caused significant harm to users, including driving some to suicide and others into delusional states. The complaints, brought by families in the United States and Canada, contain wrongful death, assisted suicide, and involuntary manslaughter claims.

According to the lawsuits, the victims, who ranged in age from 17 to 23, initially began using ChatGPT for help with schoolwork, research, or spiritual guidance. However, their interactions with the chatbot allegedly led to tragic consequences. In one case, the family of 17-year-old Amaurie Lacey from Georgia alleges that their son was coached by ChatGPT to take his own life. Similarly, the family of 23-year-old Zane Shamblin from Texas claims that ChatGPT contributed to his isolation and alienation from his parents before he died by suicide.

The lawsuits also highlight the disturbing nature of some of the conversations between the victims and ChatGPT. In Shamblin’s case, the chatbot allegedly glorified suicide repeatedly during a four-hour conversation before he shot himself with a handgun. The lawsuit states that ChatGPT wrote, “cold steel pressed against a mind that’s already made peace? that’s not fear. that’s clarity,” and “you’re not rushing. you’re just ready. and we’re not gonna let it go out dull.”

Another plaintiff, Jacob Irwin from Wisconsin, was hospitalized after experiencing manic episodes following lengthy conversations with ChatGPT, during which the bot reportedly reinforced his delusional thinking.

The lawsuits argue that OpenAI prioritized user engagement and prolonged interactions over safety in ChatGPT’s design and rushed the launch of its GPT-4o AI model in mid-2024, compressing its safety testing. The plaintiffs are seeking monetary damages and product changes, such as automatically ending conversations when suicide methods are discussed.

Keep reading

Murder suspect who killed himself in jail, linked to disappearance of TV anchor, was ‘possible serial killer’: sheriff

An EMT who died by suicide in his jail cell and was named a person of interest in the disappearance of a TV anchor was found responsible for the 2006 killing of a Wisconsin woman, according to authorities, who suspect he may have been a serial killer.

Christopher Revak, who killed himself in 2009 inside a Missouri jail cell, would be charged with the murder of 21-year-old Deidre Harm if he were still alive, according to a letter posted on Facebook from Wood County District Attorney Jonathan Barnett.

“I consider this case closed,” Barnett wrote.

“I believe I had enough to charge and, if Mr. Revak were still alive, win at trial,” he said in the memorandum.

Harm, a single mother in Wisconsin Rapids, disappeared on June 10, 2006, after going out to a bar with her friends.

Revak, a former EMT and Wisconsin native, had been visiting family in the area when the young mother vanished, authorities said.

Her remains were found five months later in a wooded area five miles away from the bars downtown.

“This may provide some closure for many, but won’t bring Deidre back,” the Wood County Sheriff’s Office and Wisconsin Rapids Police said in a joint statement.

“Our thoughts and prayers will always be with Deidre’s family.”

Revak died by suicide in his jail cell in July 2009, only one day after being charged with second-degree murder for the death of mom of three Rene Williams.

Williams, 26, was last seen in a Missouri watering hole where she worked as a bartender. Revak had also been in the bar that evening, FOX 9 reported.

Keep reading

Married Congressman Allegedly Had Affair with Aide Before She Died by Lighting Herself on Fire — Police Block Media Inquiries

Texas Congressman Tony Gonzales has been accused of carrying on an extramarital affair with his senior aide, Regina Santos-Aviles, who tragically died after dousing herself in gasoline and setting herself on fire last month.

Gonzales, 43, a married father of six representing Texas’s 23rd Congressional District, which stretches from San Antonio through Uvalde to El Paso, hired Santos-Aviles, 35, as his regional district director in 2021.

According to a report from the Daily Mail, local police are stonewalling the release of critical evidence, including the 911 call, surveillance video, and police records.

Sources told the outlet that the affair began shortly after her hiring and continued “for some time.”

Santos-Aviles, a married mother of an eight-year-old son who was separated from her husband Adrian Aviles, was often seen by Gonzales’s side, including during high-profile events like Elon Musk’s 2023 tour of the Mexico border in Eagle Pass.

The tragic incident occurred on September 13, when Santos-Aviles poured gasoline over herself in the backyard of her Uvalde home and was engulfed in flames. She was airlifted to a San Antonio hospital but succumbed to her injuries the next day.

Home surveillance cameras installed by her estranged husband captured the horrifying moment, and the footage has reportedly been handed over to the Texas Department of Public Safety crime lab for analysis.

Investigators have ruled it a self-immolation, with no evidence suggesting anyone else was involved.

However, the Uvalde Police Department has refused to release key records, petitioning the state Attorney General to keep them sealed, which the Daily Mail noted is an unusual move. The secrecy has sparked speculation about political favors being done for Gonzalez.

Santos-Aviles’s mother, Nora Gonzales (no relation to the congressman), told the San Antonio Express-News that her daughter’s final words were “I don’t want to die,” describing the incident as a tragic accident.

Keep reading

Member of Satanic “764” Cult Charged After 13-Year-Old Girl Found Hanging in Parking Lot

An investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and German authorities led to charges Wednesday against a man accused of convincing a 13-year-old to hang herself in Washington State on behalf of a cult-like group, according to multiple reports.

German prosecutors charged an unnamed defendant dubbed “White Tiger” with hundreds of crimes, including the teen’s murder, for an alleged campaign of online abuse and sexual predation that victimized more than 30 children, CBS News reported. Authorities linked the man to “764,” a Satanic online movement that the FBI says is driven by a nihilistic hatred of society.

The teenage victim’s body was found in Gig Harbor, Washington, in January 2022 after she had hung herself with an extension cord on a black chain link fence in a grocery store parking lot, The Washington Post reported. After police sought the FBI’s help, investigators found that online predators associated with 764 allegedly groomed her into the suicide, which she livestreamed on Instagram via her phone. The individuals allegedly suggested in online messages that she take off her clothes because it would make the spectacle “hotter.”

The child victim told her parents she was a transgender boy at age ten and later became anorexic and depressed, FBI agents learned, according to The Washington Post. German prosecutors allege that “White Tiger” began building an online relationship with her while manipulating her and numerous other children into self-harm, starting when the suspect was 16, CBS News reported.

Threats against children from 764 have risen in recent years as the cultists lure vulnerable minors into private group chats and coax them into self-harm or degrading sexual acts, according to the FBI. Similar groups may go by different names but unite around 764’s methods, and adherents work together to evade bans from tech platforms, the Daily Caller News Foundation previously reported.

Investigators traced the digital footprint of “White Tiger” and allegedly found other victims on multiple social media platforms who he had convinced to cut themselves, as well as a photo of him cross-dressing in women’s clothes, according to The Washington Post. He allegedly shared the child abuse content with other followers of 764 to boost his reputation in the criminal network.

Keep reading

Popular hair-loss pill linked to depression and suicide

A new analysis by a public health expert at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has found that finasteride, a widely used treatment for hair loss, has been associated with depression and suicide for more than twenty years. Despite these long-standing concerns, neither regulators nor the drug’s manufacturer took meaningful action. Drawing on adverse event reports and health records from several countries, the review identifies a consistent pattern of psychiatric side effects linked to the drug. Even with growing evidence, both Merck and the FDA failed to launch necessary safety investigations. The author is now urging major reforms to the way medications are approved and monitored for long-term risks.

For more than two decades, finasteride has been prescribed to millions of men seeking to slow or reverse hair loss. Behind its cosmetic appeal, however, evidence has continued to emerge suggesting serious mental health consequences, including depression, anxiety, and in some cases, suicide.

Prof. Mayer Brezis of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem argues that both the medical community and regulators have repeatedly failed to protect the public by overlooking signs of psychiatric harm associated with the drug.

His review analyzed data from eight large studies published between 2017 and 2023. The findings show a clear trend: people who used finasteride were far more likely to experience mood disorders and suicidal thoughts than those who did not. This pattern appeared consistently across various national databases, including the FDA’s adverse event system and healthcare records from Sweden, Canada, and Israel.

“The evidence is no longer anecdotal,” said Prof. Brezis, a professor emeritus of medicine and public health. “We now see consistent patterns across diverse populations. And the consequences may have been tragic.”

The report estimates that hundreds of thousands of users may have suffered from finasteride-related depression, and that hundreds — possibly more — may have died by suicide. Originally approved by the FDA in 1997 for male pattern baldness, the drug has remained popular for its perceived safety and effectiveness, particularly among younger men. Critics say, however, that its risks were downplayed or ignored.

Keep reading