Steven Kramer, a 54-year-old Democratic political consultant from New Orleans, has been charged with 26 criminal counts and fined $6 million for his involvement in a voter suppression scheme in New Hampshire. Kramer allegedly used artificial intelligence to create a deepfake voice of President Joe Biden that spread misinformation to potential voters, urging them to save their votes for the general election instead of participating in the state’s Democratic primary held on January 23, 2024.

The false robocalls reached thousands of New Hampshire residents, deceptively appearing to originate from the personal cell phone of a local political consultant. New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) spearheaded the investigation, which traced the actions to Kramer and two Texas companies, Life Corporation and Lingo Telecom, involved in creating and transmitting the messages.

Kramer faces 13 felony charges of voter suppression and 13 misdemeanor charges of impersonation. In a statement, Kramer admitted his role in the robocall, claiming his aim was to highlight the potential dangers of AI in political processes. The FCC also imposed a $2 million fine on Lingo Telecom for transmitting the spoofed calls. Kramer and the implicated companies now face ongoing legal proceedings.

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