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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WXIN) — Seven Indiana University fraternity members are facing criminal charges for alleged hazing methods that led to two pledges developing a serious medical condition.
Each of the students faces two counts of hazing, a felony, while the fraternity’s president faces an additional felony charge of obstruction of justice. These frat members were reportedly part of Phi Kappa Psi’s “Member Education Committee.”
According to court records, the seven students were members of the fraternity Phi Kappa Psi. In October 2025, authorities allege the students were responsible for hazing more than two dozen pledges in the fraternity’s “chapter room.”
Two of these pledges would end up hospitalized as a result of the extreme hazing, with both pledges diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis, a serious medical condition that causes skeletal muscle tissue to break down and release proteins and enzymes into the blood.
According to the court documents, the pledges were lined up in a room devoid of furniture, with only a metal trough containing ice water, and ordered to perform strenuous exercises for approximately three hours. These exercises included “brother squats,” where pledges lock arms and perform squats simultaneously to the point of exhaustion.
Both hospitalized pledges first complained of thigh pain and difficulty walking when admitted to the hospital. One reported having dark urine. Both pledges were hospitalized for multiple days due to the rhabdomyolysis diagnosis.
According to court documents, one of the pledges told investigators that Phi Kappa Psi President Arjunkumar Patel learned of the pledge being hospitalized and messaged him while he was in the hospital. Patel allegedly instructed the pledge to lie about his injuries and tell the doctors his injuries came from working out at the gym before telling the pledge to delete his messages.
Both pledges and members of the fraternity identified Joseph Moon as the one who directly oversaw the hazing, with Moon being described as responsible for deciding what activities the pledges must perform.
According to court documents, frat members told police that Patel was at the “New Member Committee” event and supervising it from the “outside.”
The five other members charged were all allegedly present during the hazing, according to witnesses.
Phi Kappa Psi was placed under a cease and desist order on Oct. 21, 2025, after word of the hazing incident spread. IU said the fraternity remains suspended.
“The Office of Student Life holds all fraternities and sororities to high standards of safety, accountability and respectful experiences for every member,” said Lamar Hylton, vice chancellor for Student Life at IU Bloomington. “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.”
“People often dismiss hazing as a college tradition or rite of passage. But when young students are hospitalized with a potentially life-threatening medical condition, it becomes painfully clear that this conduct is anything but harmless,” said attorney Tammy Meyer, who is representing one of the victims.
“Our hope is that these criminal proceedings change the culture surrounding hazing before another student is seriously injured,” Meyer added.
Meyer is among two law firms representing one of the hospitalized pledges. The law firms have filed a tort alleging that Indiana University failed to protect its students from fraternity pledging processes.
“This experience took away what should have been an exciting part of my freshman year. Instead of building friendships, I ended up in the hospital with a serious medical condition. I hope these criminal proceedings encourage students to speak up and reminds organizations that no tradition is worth risking someone’s life,” a victim statement issued by attorneys read.
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