Political consultant behind fake Biden AI robocalls indicted in NH, faces $6 million fine

May 23—The Attorney General's Office has filed criminal charges against the political consultant behind a robocall that used artificial intelligence to impersonate President Joe Biden urging voters not to vote in New Hampshire's primary election earlier this year.

Attorney General John M. Formella announced Thursday that Steven Kramer, 54, of New Orleans, Lousiana, has been indicted on charges of felony voter suppression and misdemeanor impersonation of a candidate.

Kramer also faces a $6 million fine, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced Thursday.

The FCC said the fine proposed for Kramer is the first involving AI technology. The company accused of transmitting the calls, Lingo Telecom, faces a $2 million fine.

The parties could settle or negotiate in both cases, the FCC said.

On Jan. 22, 2024, the Attorney General's Office announced it was opening an investigation into reports of thousands of New Hampshire residents receiving a robocall message asking them to "save (their) vote for the November election" and stating "(y)our vote makes a difference in November, not this Tuesday."

The voice in the recorded message appeared to have been artificially generated to sound like the voice of President Biden, and "spoofed" to falsely imply it had been sent by the treasurer of a political committee supporting Democratic Presidential Primary write-in efforts for President Biden.

Kramer has been charged with 13 felony counts of voter suppression and 13 misdemeanor counts of impersonation of a candidate.

The charges are spread across four counties based on the residences of 13 New Hampshire residents who received the robocalls: Rockingham County (five counts violating each statute); Belknap County (three counts); Grafton County (three counts); and Merrimack County (two counts).

The Federal Communications Commission is expected to separately announce an enforcement action against Kramer based on violations of federal law, officials said.

"New Hampshire remains committed to ensuring that our elections remain free from unlawful interference and our investigation into this matter remains ongoing," Formella said in a statement.

The indictments allege that Kramer "sent or caused to be sent a pre-recorded phone message that disguised the source of the call, or was deceptive in using an artificially created voice of a candidate, or provided misleading information, in attempting to prevent or deter" voters from participating in the New Hampshire primary.

Kramer, who worked for Rep. Dean Phillips' Democratic primary campaign against Biden, has publicly admitted he was behind the robocall, sent to more than 20,000 voters and urging them to "save" their vote for the November election instead of casting ballots in the primary.

Phillips' campaign has denied any involvement in the robocalls.

A lawsuit filed in March in federal court alleges the automated robocalls could have "long-lasting and detrimental" impacts on voters.

The League of Women Voters of New Hampshire, the League of Women Voters of the United States, and individual voters in New London, Dover and Barrington filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Concord against two Texas companies — Lingo Telecom, LLC and Life Corporation — and Kramer, alleging "voter intimidation, coercion, and deception" ahead of the 2024 New Hampshire presidential primary, court documents show.

The suit seeks millions in damages.

Plaintiffs are seeking up to $7,500 in damages for each call that violated federal and state law. Officials estimate the robocall went to between 5,000 and 25,000 people — resulting in damages ranging somewhere between $37,500,000 and $187,500,000.

"If defendants are not permanently enjoined from deploying AI-generated robocalls, there is a strong likelihood that it will happen again," the lawsuit says.