Mariano Rivera Foundation Alumni and Ignite Life Center Pastor’s Brother Speaks Out
Ignite Life Center (ILC) pastor Nick Bruce’s brother, nephew of head pastor Mark Vega, and Mariano Rivera Foundation (MRF) alumni, Victor Bruce, is speaking out against the child sexual abuse coverups that occurred in the church.
Victor and Nick Bruce spent most of their childhood growing up in Brandon, Florida, but grew up going to the ILC Summer Internship (ISI). Victor Bruce said he has the record for most ISI attendances in a row (8) and that his brother was one of the first ISM students, going at the age of 16 in 2015 or 2016.
Victor Bruce was nine, and his brother was 14 or 15 when their father died. This led them and their mother to move to Gainesville, making them physically closer to Vega and his church.
On paper, Vega is the cousin of Nick and Victor Bruce’s mother, but he was considered an uncle to the brothers.
However, Victor Bruce believes that Vega may not be biologically related to his family. Victor Bruce told GnvInfo that Vega’s mom “used to be a streetwalker, bro, like a prostitute. A verifiable prostitute. Imma tell you this right now, in the 70s they did not have the accurate DNA tests that we have so widely available to us now, so how the fuck is this nigga related to us?... This is the only lame-ass nigga in my family, so yes, there has to be a common denominator.”
Victor Bruce said he had to travel to New York to get verification from family friends about Vega’s mother’s job.
Three people from ILC have been arrested since July 2023 for sex crimes against children: (1) ISI volunteer Gabriel Hemenez, (2) Vega’s son Christian Vargas, and (3) former associate pastor Jose Cruz’s son Noel Cruz.
Former Yankees closer and NY-based Refuge of Hope Church (ROH) pastor Mariano Rivera has a longstanding friendship with Vega. Rivera was recently sued for traveling to ILC to cover up child sexual abuse. The lawsuit states Mariano Rivera covered up more child sexual abuse at his home that was committed by ROH pastor Ruben Tavarez’s son, Ruben Tavarez Jr.
Victor Bruce personally knew Mariano Rivera through his participation in MRF.
In the summer of 2021, Victor Bruce started attending the Ignite School of Ministry (ISM) and subsequently joined MRF when the nonprofit established a mentorship program at ILC in Gainesville.
Mark Vega’s wife and ILC pastor Lisa Vega served as executive director of the foundation. ILC pastor Esther Omeben served as the program coordinator for the mentorship program at ILC.
Victor Bruce said he often felt tokenized by MRF. “They loved parading Black people around,” he said.
Victor Bruce said, “On our trip to the Las Vegas tech conference. We were on a stage…. When they brought me up, they’re like ‘Oh yeah, his dad died.’ Then they brought up Arnez and talked about how his dad died. Then they brought up Christian, and they’re like, ‘He grew up with no parents. He was adopted.’ It was kind of like that. It felt like being paraded.”
Victor Bruce said that he and his peers at MRF, many of whom were also Black, were pressured to testify about difficult life experiences on stage and say how the organization helped their lives.
Victor Bruce recalled a time when Mark Vega made a racist comment towards him. “We were at Mark’s crib, and we were watching the [NBA] Lakers vs. Warriors. There’s this dude on the Warriors, and his name is Kevon Looney, bro. He’s got braids, just like me, a Black dude with braided hair. That nigga Mark said, ‘Why do you look like that nigga Kevon Looney on the court?’ I start fucking dying, bro, fucking dying, bro. I’m like, ‘Nigga, did you just call me Kevon Looney?’ Shit was low-key funny, but I ain’t gonna lie, it's shit like that—you know?”
Victor Bruce also attended the MRF Celebrity Golf Benefit at the Wykagyl Country Club in May 2022. The event was held to raise money for the proposed MRF Learning Center. An MRF Instagram post states the fundraiser raised $1.2 million.
Victor Bruce said attendees of the 2022 MRF Celebrity Golf Benefit wore notoriously expensive watches. “You know how much those Audemars Piguets [cost].... You basically get one of these motherfuckers by being comically rich or knowing somebody. You start adding them up, and you have all these Italian car dealership guys coming to the fundraiser. They own these Mercedes car dealerships, but they have these fucking watches that you would have to literally sell 30 Mercedes a day to be able to afford. It's six guys, with each of them having one of these watches, and their wives have one of these watches. These guys have so much money you start to wonder how the fuck they get it. One thing I was always taught is that if something doesn’t look right, it probably isn’t right, and I'm not saying nothing; I’m not accusing nobody of nothing, but if something doesn't look right, it probably is not right. I was 17 at the time of the golf event. These guys were coming with their families, bro; their teenage sons have genuine custom worked on Pateks.”
The MRF Instagram has a video showing Victor Bruce and Vargas standing on stage at the 2022 MRF Celebrity Golf Benefit while Mariano Rivera and several ILC pastors gave speeches.
ILC pastor/public relations manager Nicole Gomez said, “I’ll tell you that we see it day by day as we reciprocate the work that we do. There are many young people that have no direction, that have no purpose, that are full of anxiety, full of depression, yet through the work of this foundation, we are seeing those very things broken completely. Now we are seeing young people. We're seeing people like myself that have the ability to get a master's in business administration and leading a center where we are serving children that have gone through traumatic experiences, critical living conditions, and abuse. I am thankful because I can confidently say today that we are a part of it. You are a part of it. What you're doing matters today, and I thank you for your contribution.”
Nick Bruce said, “I’ve been saved and marked because of the work that occurred within the Mariano Rivera Foundation…. I can tell you with confidence that instead of accepting a sentence, instead of accepting and being another statistic, the Mariano Rivera Foundation lifted me out of a pit of hopelessness, out of fear, out of doubt, and I can tell you that it is because of your giving that we're able to continue that work that we do in this foundation.”
Esther Omeben said, “My family is from Nigeria. If you know anything about the Nigerian culture, there are only three, professions you are allowed to have. You could be a doctor, a lawyer, or engineer…. I encountered the work of the foundation at 19 years old and now I stand before you as someone who not only has been able to reciprocate the work that has been done in my life, but I have the opportunity now to be the program director for the learning center in Gainesville, Florida. We have some of our boys here. We have Victor Bruce who came here. We've been going through a pandemic in this in our nation, in our world. A pandemic of COVID, but there's also another pandemic…. suicidal thoughts and depression and anxiety like never before. Through the work that Mariano and his wife, Clara, have decided to do and to put their foot forward and not just be a part of something, but engross their entire lives in…. Thank you all for your contribution. Know that these aren't just fancy dinners that you're coming to…. Your time, your efforts, your investment is changing the lives of young people across this nation.”
Lisa Vega gave a speech thanking contributors of the event.
Lisa Vega speaks at the 2022 MRF Celebrity Golf Benefit (MRF Instagram) (The video published by MRF contains cuts)
Lisa Vega went on to thank Clara Rivera, saying, “She is the reason why we’re even here because she has been the biggest supporter of this foundation and that’s why we’re able to do what we do.”
Mariano Rivera gave a brief speech thanking everyone who attended the event.
Mariano Rivera speaks at the 2022 MRF Celebrity Golf Benefit (MRF Instagram)
Victor Bruce expressed surprise upon being told the 2022 MRF Celebrity Golf Benefit raised $1.2 million. He questioned where the money has gone, as the learning center has yet to be constructed.
Mark Vega attended the 2022 MRF Celebrity Golf Benefit with Gainesville Police Department (GPD) Sgt. Tony Ferro.
While Victor Bruce was attending ISM, his brother started a GoFundMe to raise money for his tuition. Recalling the fundraiser, Victor Bruce stated over text, “Yea these niggas had me fundraising for my tuition [because] my poor ass couldn’t afford that shit. 😭 bro literally they used to have me [and] my friends [selling] sandwiches after church so I could pay for my tuition. I remember that shit tho I used to make such a beastly Ham&Cheese sandwich niggas used to buy them by the bundles 😭.”
Victor Bruce’s fundraiser states “Ignite Donation” donated $1,510 and that “Offline donation” donated $1,080. Other donors include “Church fundraiser,” contributing $600, and “Nicky G,” likely Gomez, contributing $350.
Victor Bruce stated over text, “Other people would provide either housing or donate whole ass transport vehicles so we can go on trips, so like in all honesty, we really didn’t have to pay for anything considering the fact that friends in the industry would provide us the means to complete our trips so in all honesty i would assume the funds garnered for ‘tuition’ were either just pocketed for profit, or invested and reused for either leisure activities for the leadership of the church or just for personal gain.”
Victor Bruce said that Gabriel Hemenz’s brother, Jovan Hemenez, defended his brother following his arrest. Victor Bruce said, “Jovan used to talk shit. When [Gabriel] got arrested, Jovan posted this thing on his story about ‘When the truth comes out….’ I screen-shotted the article of him getting arrested on my Instagram, and I tagged [Jovan]. I was like, ‘What happened to all that chatting?’ I’ll say it again too—like, fuck you, Jovan. I hope you get hit by a car, dumbass nigga. Got your brother rolled up right now, dumbass little nigga.”
After Hemenez was arrested, Mark Vega and Gomez led a town hall-style meeting at the church where they claimed Hemenez was subject to background checks before working at ISI. Victor Bruce told GnvInfo that ILC did not background check Hemenez or anyone working at ISI. Victor Bruce stated that he worked at ISI and was not subject to any background screening.
A GPD supplemental report in Noel Cruz’s case states that Mark Vega and several ILC pastors covered up the victim’s reports of sexual misconduct by Vargas and Noel Cruz. Nick Bruce was among several other pastors who knew Noel Cruz was engaging in illegal sexual activity with the victim but did not report the matter to police. Victor Bruce stated he was not aware of the supplemental report prior to his interview with GnvInfo.
Victor Bruce indicated that he was disappointed in his brother for not speaking up. He stated he believes Mark Vega should go to jail for organizing the meeting but doesn’t believe he will, calling GPD “fucking useless.”
In September 2024, GPD Captain Paris Owens and Sgt. John Pandak told GnvInfo that they were not investigating Mark Vega for evidence concealment. Pandak stated, “We have no probable cause to charge Mark Vega with anything.” Owens disclosed in the interview that Mark Vega used to be the chaplain for GPD before the sexual abuse in the church was revealed.
Victor Bruce told GnvInfo that GPD Chief Nelson Moya needs to “start putting these pedophiles in prison and stop being a bitch.” He said, “I wouldn't be surprised if Nelson and Mark were friends on the down low, from back from their days in New York.”
Victor Bruce went on to say, “They need to go to jail. I know they got cops on payroll. That shit be cute. They got cops on payroll, but when people are raping children, they don’t wanna call the cops, isn’t that ironic?”
Victor Bruce said he’s been routinely seeking psychiatric counseling due to his experiences at ILC. He said that other survivors should not be afraid or ashamed of doing the same.
In a message of solidarity to victims of sexual abuse at ILC, Victor Bruce said, “I wanna let you know that you are loved and have purpose. One event doesn’t define your entire existence or what your life has to be. At the end of the day, no amount of physical or narcotics or anything is gonna help you. I’m telling you this as someone who's gone through something serious. I’ve had every type of loss: family, friends, community. You can have everything in the world, but if you don’t handle that hurt, that shit will fuck you up.”
Victor Bruce said he believes there should be a protest at ILC.
ILC continues to hold services on Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings, according to their website, with one being held today for Easter.
More information on ILC is available in the investigation below.
