Steve Kramer, the political consultant who admitted to NBC News that he was behind a robocall that impersonated Joe Biden’s voice, has been charged in New Hampshire.
Kramer faces five charges, including bribery, intimidation and oppression, according to Manchester-based WMUR-TV, which first reported the charges. It is unclear how he substantiates the accusations.
Kramer could not immediately be reached and his spokesman declined to comment.
The robocall, which was first reported by NBC News and went out to thousands of voters in New Hampshire in January, just before the state’s first presidential primary, used artificial intelligence technology to deepfake Biden and tell voters to stay home and ‘save’ their votes for the November general election.
The call was the first known example of the use of deepfake in national American politics. It sparked outrage among officials and watchdogs, prompting the Federal Communications Commission to propose a new rule banning unsolicited AI robocalls.
State and federal law enforcement officials took the call seriously, eager to send a strong message that they would not tolerate misuse of the new technology, while advocates say new rules are needed.
New Hampshire law enforcement officials quickly charged two out-of-state telecom companies they say were involved in spreading the robocall, but the call’s originators remained unknown until a nomadic street magician came forward to NBC News.
Paul Carpenter, who has a world record in straitjacket escapes but no fixed address, said Kramer hired him to create the audio of Biden’s voice used in the call. He provided screenshots of text messages and Venmo transactions to confirm his account.
Confronted with the evidence, Kramer admitted he ordered the call, but insisted he only did so to push for stricter regulations on AI deepfakes.
“This is a way for me to make a difference, and I did,” he said, adding that he was not concerned about possible legal consequences. ‘I can tell you they’re not used to me. I wrestled in college.”
Kramer is a veteran voting consultant who has worked primarily for Democrats, especially in New York. At the time, he had a six-figure contract with Rep.’s campaign. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., who mounted a lengthy primary challenge to Biden.
Kramer and the Phillips campaign both adamantly denied that the campaign had any knowledge of the robocall or instructed him to create it.
Phillips dropped out of the presidential race shortly after his poor performance in the New Hampshire primary.
There are fears that deepfakes, which use AI to impersonate someone, will become a bigger part of political campaigns and society in general.
This week, actor Scarlett Johansson accused Open AI of imitating her voice without her consent as part of a new product launch. The company denied that, but removed the voice.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
