If you’re reading this, your family may be facing one of the most terrifying moments of your life. Your child was supposed to make friends at college. Instead, they were tortured. We’re here to help families in Gloucester County fight back.
We understand the fear, anger, and confusion that washes over you when your child, who you sent off to college with dreams of a bright future, returns home broken, physically and emotionally, because of hazing. Perhaps they attend a university in or around Gloucester County, or maybe they’ve gone off to a larger institution in New Jersey or another state. No matter where they are, when your child joins a fraternity or sorority, a sports team, or any student organization, you trust that they will be safe, grow, and build positive relationships. You never imagine they will be subjected to calculated abuse and humiliation.
We are Attorney911, and we are legal emergency lawyers. We move first, fast, and decisively when a legal emergency strikes. For families in Gloucester County dealing with the trauma of hazing, we bring aggressive, data-driven, and relentlessly effective legal representation. We are currently fighting a $10 million hazing lawsuit against Pi Kappa Phi and the University of Houston, and we bring the same fight, the same expertise, and the same commitment to justice for hazing victims and their families in Gloucester County and across the nation.
Our deepest roots are in Texas, with offices in Houston, Austin, and Beaumont, but our reach extends far beyond state lines. Through federal court admissions and dual-state bar licenses in both Texas and New York, we are uniquely equipped to pursue national fraternities, universities, and individuals regardless of where they are located. For families in Gloucester County, this means you have access to a legal team that understands the cultural nuances of New Jersey while possessing the national leverage to take on large institutions. We travel for depositions, trials, and client meetings, and offer remote consultations, ensuring that distance is never a barrier to justice. We will come to Gloucester County for your case, ensuring you receive the personalized attention your family deserves.
The Problem: Hazing in America
Hazing is not a harmless rite of passage. It is not “boys being boys” or “building character.” It is a pervasive, dangerous, and often criminal act of abuse that has devastating consequences. For too long, universities and national Greek organizations have allowed this culture to fester, valuing tradition and reputation over the safety and well-being of young people.
In Gloucester County, New Jersey, students attend a variety of colleges and universities, often including local institutions like Rowan University in Glassboro, as well as larger state universities like Rutgers University, or private colleges throughout New Jersey and neighboring states. Each of these institutions, no matter their size or prestige, faces the challenge of overseeing Greek life and other student organizations where hazing can occur. The national fraternities and sororities that operate on campuses in Gloucester County and across New Jersey are often the same organizations that have histories of severe hazing incidents, many resulting in serious injuries or even death.
Parents in Gloucester County send their children to these schools with the expectation that they will be safe. They trust that universities will uphold their duty to protect students. But the reality is that hazing is a national epidemic, and if your child is part of Greek life or another student group, they are at risk. We see the same patterns of abuse and institutional negligence in New Jersey as we do in Texas, and we are ready to fight for Gloucester County families who have been harmed.
The Landmark Case: Attorney911 Fights Back Against Pi Kappa Phi & University of Houston
This case happened in Houston, Texas, just weeks before writing this article. But the same hazing occurs at universities near Gloucester County, the same fraternities operate across New Jersey, and the same institutional failures exist at educational institutions nationwide. We will fight for Gloucester County families with the same aggression and determination we’re bringing to this $10 million lawsuit.
On November 21, 2025, our firm, Attorney911, filed a $10 million lawsuit in Harris County Civil District Court against Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity, the University of Houston, the UH Board of Regents, the Pi Kappa Phi Housing Corporation, and 13 individual fraternity members. This lawsuit became front-page news across Houston, reported by ABC13, KHOU 11, the Houston Chronicle, and Houston Public Media. This isn’t theoretical; this is a fight we are in right now, representing a young man named Leonel Bermudez, whose life was forever changed by the abhorrent hazing he endured.
Leonel Bermudez was a “ghost rush”—a prospective member not yet even enrolled at the University of Houston, but planning to transfer for the upcoming semester. They did this to someone who wasn’t even their student, demonstrating a shocking level of reckless disregard. He accepted a bid to join Pi Kappa Phi on September 16, 2025. What followed was weeks of systematic abuse, physical and psychological torture, culminating in an incident that hospitalized him for three nights and four days with severe rhabdomyolysis and acute kidney failure.
Here’s what happened to Leonel, and why Gloucester County families need to pay attention:
The Hazing From Hell: A Timeline of Abuse
- September 16, 2025: Leonel Bermudez accepts a bid to join the Beta Nu chapter of Pi Kappa Phi at the University of Houston. This should have been the start of a positive college experience. Instead, it was the beginning of his nightmare.
- Throughout the pledge period (September 16 – November 3): Leonel was subjected to a relentless regime of abuse, including:
- Waterboarding: Pledges were “simulated waterboarded with a garden hose,” sprayed directly in the face while doing calisthenics. This is a form of torture, yet it was inflicted upon young men trying to join a “brotherhood.”
- Forced Consumption: He was forced to eat large amounts of milk, hot dogs, and peppercorns until he vomited. Then, he was subjected to further physical exertion and made to lie in his own vomit-soaked grass.
- Extreme Physical Punishment: He was forced to endure grueling workouts, including 100+ pushups, 500 squats, high-volume “suicides,” bear crawls, wheelbarrows, “save-your-brother” drills, two-mile warmups, and repeated 100-yard crawls. He was forced to recite the fraternity creed while exercising past the point of collapse.
- Physical Beatings: Pledges were struck with wooden paddles. This is outright assault.
- Emotional Trauma: He was forced to strip to his underwear in cold weather, carry a fanny pack with objects of a sexual nature at all times, and witnessed another pledge hog-tied face-down on a table with an object in his mouth for over an hour.
- Sleep Deprivation: He was forced to drive fraternity members during early morning hours, leading to severe exhaustion that impacted his daily life.
- Threats: He was continually threatened with physical punishment or expulsion from the fraternity if he did not comply, creating an environment of fear and coercion.
- October 15, 2025: Just weeks before Leonel’s hospitalization, another pledge lost consciousness and collapsed during forced physical activity, requiring others to elevate his legs until he revived. This incident alone should have triggered immediate intervention.
- November 3, 2025 (The Final Incident): After weeks of this brutal regimen, Leonel was pushed past his breaking point. He was forced through an intense workout so extreme that he collapsed and could not stand without help.
- November 4-5, 2025: Leonel’s condition worsened dramatically. He was “really sore and couldn’t really move” on November 4th, and “the next day was worse.”
- November 6, 2025: His mother, horrified by his deterioration, rushed him to the hospital. He was “passing brown urine”—a classic, terrifying sign of severe muscle breakdown.
- November 6-10, 2025: