Penn State Frat Bro Says $1,500 Spring Break Debt Forced Him Into Cocaine Deliveries

A Penn State fraternity brother says he was forced to run drugs to pay off $1,500 he borrowed for a spring break trip.

Lars Zeepvat, a member of Pennsylvania State University’s Sigma Chi fraternity, told investigators that former fraternity brother Agostino Abbatiello made him deliver cocaine after he couldn’t repay the loan, according to a grand jury indictment, People reported on Thursday, August 20.

Zeepvat, 24, and Abbatiello, 24, are two of 13 current and former Penn State students charged in an alleged cocaine-trafficking operation involving two campus fraternities, per the outlet. Both face felony counts including corrupt organizations, conspiracy and dealing in proceeds of unlawful activity, Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday announced this week, according to the report.

The outlet reported that the indictment alleges that Zeepvat told authorities Abbatiello was Penn State’s biggest cocaine distributor from 2023 to 2024 and often bragged about his profits. The pair were close friends, per the indictment, who together distributed drugs after Zeepvat’s original Philadelphia supplier went dark, prompting them to find a new source in Abbatiello’s hometown on Long Island.

The relationship escalated around spring 2023, when Abbatiello bought 100 grams of cocaine from the New York contact. “Once he made this large purchase, Zeepvat described a shift in Abbatiello, and it was clear to him that Abbatiello was now selling drugs for profit, rather than sourcing it for himself and a few friends,” the indictment states, per People.

According to the outlet, the indictment claims Abbatiello’s operation soon expanded beyond his own fraternity house. Zeepvat said he and another brother made three runs to buy large quantities of drugs for Abbatiello, getting paid in cash or discounted cocaine, while fraternity brothers and roommates helped cut and repackage the product for resale.

It was against that backdrop, per the indictment, that Abbatiello fronted Zeepvat the $1,500 for his spring break trip — and when Zeepvat couldn’t repay it, put him to work delivering cocaine instead. Abbatiello surrendered to authorities on Tuesday after skipping a scheduled Monday arraignment and was ordered held without bail, per the report.