Seven Indiana University frat bros brutally hazed pledges with hours of sadistic physical workouts — sending two to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
The seven students from the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity allegedly hazed more than two dozen pledges in the fraternity’s “chapter room” in October 2025, according to court records obtained by CBS4.
The wannabes were lined up in an empty room with only a metal trough containing ice water, and instructed to perform strenuous exercises for roughly three hours, court documents said.
The brutal workouts included “brother squats,” in which the pledges would lock arms and perform squats simultaneously until exhaustion, the outlet reported.
The pledges were also allegedly forced to do push-ups, planks and leg lifts, with some then required to plunge into the ice bath and recite the fraternity’s creed, WTHR reported.
Two of the pledges were taken to the hospital after complaining of difficulty walking and thigh pain. One of them developed dark urine, court documents detailed.
Both pledges ended up hospitalized for multiple days with rhabdomyolysis, a condition where damaged muscle tissue breaks down and dangerously releases proteins and electrolytes into the bloodstream.
The condition can lead to kidney failure and is life-threatening if not treated quickly, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
One of the pledges also told investigators that Phi Kappa Psi President Arjunkumar Patel sent him messages instructing him to lie about his injuries and tell doctors his condition was from working out at the gym, court documents said.
The frat president then told the pledge to delete his messages, prosecutors alleged.
Patel has been hit with felony charges for hazing and obstruction of justice. Fraternity members Joseph Moon, Noah Kucera, Logan Conforti, Casey Clarke, Ryan Donohue and Kaptur Nowaczyk were all charged with two counts of felony hazing, authorities said.
The crew of pledges and fraternity members said Moon, of Elkhart, allegedly oversaw the hazing ritual and decided what grueling activities the pledges should partake in, according to court documents.
Nowacyk, Donahue, Clarke, Conforti and Kucera — known as Phi Kappa Psi’s “Member Education Committee” — were present for the degrading workout session.
Patel was at another event, supervising it from the “outside,” the outlet said.
Indiana University’s Phi Kappa Psi chapter was placed on a cease-and-desist in late October, suspending all organization activities.
“The Office of Student Life holds all fraternities and sororities to high standards of safety, accountability and respectful experiences for every member,” Lamar Hylton, vice chancellor for student life at Indiana University Bloomington, told the outlet.
“The allegations made in the charges announced by the Monroe County Prosecutor’s Office are inconsistent with Indiana University’s values and expectations of student conduct.”
A level 6 felony, which all seven members are charged with, carries a maximum sentence of 2.5 years behind bars.
The seven fraternity brothers have been summoned to appear in court for an initial hearing on Sept. 1.
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