The New Hampshire political consultant behind robocalls impersonating President Biden now faces 24 criminal charges, 13 of which are felonies.
Steve Kramer admitted to ordering robocalls that used artificial intelligence to generate a vote similar to President Biden's and encouraged recipients not to participate in the primaries.
The Federal Communications Commission also announced $6 million in fines against Kramer.
“It is important that you save your vote for the November elections,” said New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella. The calls added: “Your vote makes a difference in November, not this Tuesday.”
NEW HAMPSHIRE INVESTIGATION FAKE BIDEN ROBOCALL TELLING VOTERS NOT TO PARTICIPATE IN TUESDAY'S PRE-DECLARATION
In this image from a video, Steve Kramer speaks during an interview in Miami. (AP photo)
“After receiving multiple reports and complaints on the day these calls were made and the day after, my office immediately opened an investigation,” Formella said.
He described how his office's Election Law Unit worked with the Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force, a bipartisan task force composed of 50 attorneys general, and the Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau.
Kramer previously told News 9 that he produced the calls as a stunt to demonstrate the need to regulate AI technology.
NEW HAMPSHIRE AG TRACES ROBOCALLS WITH 'AI-GENERATED CLONE' OF BIDEN'S VOTE BACK TO TEXAS-BASED COMPANIES
New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella describes the investigation into robocalls that used artificial intelligence to mimic President Biden's voice and discourage people from voting in the first New Hampshire primary during a press conference in Concord, NH (Amanda Gokee/The Boston Globe via AP)
“Maybe I'm a bad guy today, but I think in the end we'll have a better country and a better democracy because of what I deliberately did,” Kramer previously said of the investigation.
The robocalls in New Hampshire led to immediate action banning deepfakes impersonating political candidates. The FCC ruled the practice illegal in February.
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Federal Communications Commission Chairman Jessica Rosenworcel speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC (Alex Wong/Pool via AP, file)
With the unanimous approval of a ruling recognizing calls made with AI-generated voices as “artificial” under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), a 1991 law that restricts unwanted calls that use artificial and pre-recorded voice messages, it said the FCC that it will give prosecutors new tools to prosecute those responsible for voice cloning scams.
WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)?
“Bad actors are using AI-generated voices in unsolicited robocalls to extort vulnerable family members, impersonate celebrities, and misinform voters. We are alerting the fraudsters behind these robocalls,” FCC Chairman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement.
“The attorneys general will now have new tools to tackle these scams and ensure the public is protected from fraud and misinformation.”
Danielle Wallace of Fox News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
