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Medium reported severity Investigation Opened

Karnataka police say an AI-generated Trump video promoted a fake 'Trump Hotel Rental' investment app; a lawyer lost about Rs 5.9 lakh

Police in Karnataka, India, said in May 2025 that cybercriminals used an AI-generated video of US President Donald Trump to draw people into a fake 'Trump Hotel Rentals' investment scheme run through a mobile app. A lawyer told police and the Indian Express that in January 2025 he saw short YouTube videos offering investment in Donald Trump hotels, downloaded the app, and deposited Rs 5,93,240 between 25 January and 4 April 2025 after small early payouts, then could not withdraw anything. Police registered a case under the IT Act and the cheating provision of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and froze Rs 1.5 lakh in a recipient account. Reports describe more than 200 complaints across Karnataka districts with losses near Rs 2 crore; how many of those people saw the video is not established. The technical basis for the police description of the video as AI-generated is not disclosed.

AI system
Unidentified video tool
Occurred
25 Jan 2025 to 4 Apr 2025
Reported
26 May 2025
Event location
India
What the AI did
Depicted or impersonated the person
Reported harm
Financial Loss
Whose AI use
Someone else’s AI use
Setting
Finance
Evidence
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 3 sources
4 claims: 4 reported. 3 open questions
People reported harmed
At least 1 person

AI system as recorded: Video of Donald Trump promoting 'Trump Hotel Rentals' that police described as AI-generated, used to draw people to a fraudulent investment app; no generation tool is identified

What Happened

The lure. According to police quoted by PTI and the Indian Express, cybercriminals used an AI-generated video of Donald Trump to lure people into the Trump Hotel Rental scheme, which ran through a mobile app. Police said users paid Rs 1,500 to open an account and were given tasks such as writing company profiles, each of which appeared to raise their earnings on the app's dashboard.

One investor's loss. A lawyer told the Indian Express that in January 2025 he came across YouTube shorts offering investment in the Donald Trump Hotel, filled in a form with his bank details, and was paid small daily amounts that he could withdraw. Asked to invest more, he deposited Rs 5,93,240 between 25 January and 4 April 2025; when he was told to pay taxes to withdraw his returns, the money never came back. He complained to police on 6 May 2025, according to PTI.

Scale and response. The Times of India reports that more than 200 investors complained to cyber police about losses of nearly Rs 2 crore over five to six months, and that police claimed more than 800 investors were affected. Police froze Rs 1.5 lakh in the account that received the lawyer's money and appealed to the public not to click unknown links. The police release quoted by PTI speaks of fake links and does not itself mention AI; the AI description is attributed to police by PTI and the Indian Express without a stated technical basis.

Reported harm

According to police and his own account, a lawyer lost Rs 5,93,240 after a YouTube video, which police described as AI-generated, promoting a fake Trump hotel investment app; police report more than 200 complaints statewide.

Outcome

Ongoing

Police registered the lawyer's case under the IT Act and section 318(4) (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and froze Rs 1.5 lakh in the receiving bank account, according to PTI. The Times of India reports cases registered at police stations in Bengaluru, Tumakuru, Mangaluru, Hubballi, Dharwad, Kalaburgi, Shivamogga, Ballari, Bidar and Haveri, 15 of them in Haveri district, and that the app had been taken down. No arrest is reported in the inspected sources.

What remains unknown

  • How the police established that the Trump video was AI-generated, and which tool made it.
  • How many of the more than 200 complainants saw the video before investing.
  • Whether anyone has been arrested or any money returned beyond the Rs 1.5 lakh frozen.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. Investigating police, as reported separately by PTI and the Indian Express, said the scheme used an AI-generated video of Donald Trump to dupe people into the scheme; the lawyer says he saw such YouTube shorts and then installed the app and deposited his money (depicted_or_impersonated: the generated video impersonated Trump toward the people it deceived). The technical basis for the police attribution is not disclosed, and the police release quoted by PTI mentions only fake links. No generation tool is identified.

4 claims: 4 reported. What the statuses mean

Reported Police said the cybercriminals used an AI-generated video of Donald Trump to draw people into a fake 'Trump Hotel Rentals' investment scheme run through a mobile app.

Causal attribution. Attributed to police by two outlets; the technical basis is not stated, and the police release PTI quotes does not mention AI.

  • theweek.in(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'allegedly lured him into investing in a Trump Hotel rentals scheme using an AI-generated video of US President Donald Trump promising high returns, police said on Monday'
  • indianexpress.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'The police said cybercriminals used the AI-generated video of Donald Trump to dupe people in Bengaluru, Tumakuru, Mangaluru, and Haveri.'
Reported A lawyer saw YouTube videos offering investment in 'Donald Trump Hotel Rentals' in January 2025, downloaded the app and deposited Rs 5,93,240 between 25 January and 4 April 2025, and could not recover it.

Causal attribution. The lawyer's own account, given in his complaint as relayed by police to PTI and in his interview with the Indian Express: one witness, so reported; whether the clips he saw contained the AI-generated video rests on the police attribution.

  • theweek.in(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'he came across a video on YouTube offering an investment opportunity in "Donald Trump Hotel Rentals."'; 'When he clicked the link, he was directed to download a mobile application.'; 'he deposited Rs 5,93,240 to various bank accounts, UPI IDs, and digital wallets between January 25 and April 4.'; 'However, he stopped receiving returns and was unable to recover the invested amount.'
  • indianexpress.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'claimed he deposited Rs 5,93,240 between January 25 and April 4 this year'; 'In January this year, I came across shorts on YouTube that offered to invest in the Donald Trump Hotel.'
Reported Police registered a case under the IT Act and the cheating provision of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and froze Rs 1.5 lakh in the receiving account.

Causal attribution. Police statements reported by PTI.

  • theweek.in(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'A case has been registered under the IT Act and Section 318(4) (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, police said.'; 'Rs 1.5 lakh in the bank account to which the money was transferred has been frozen, a senior police officer said.'
Reported More than 200 investors in Karnataka complained to cyber police of losing nearly Rs 2 crore through the app, with cases registered in several districts, 15 of them in Haveri.

Causal attribution. Police figures relayed by both outlets; one underlying origin. Whether each complainant saw the AI-generated video is not established.

  • timesofindia.indiatimes.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'More than 200 investors from Karnataka have complained to cybercops that they were collectively defrauded of nearly Rs 2 crore'; 'A total of 15 cases have been registered in Haveri district.'
  • indianexpress.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'has been used to dupe more than 200 people in the last few months in several cities of Karnataka'

Sources

3 sources inspected. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.

How the sources were read, and where the events happened

PTI copy republished by The Week; the live page returned 403, so a 2025 Internet Archive capture was read in full in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-21. No translation was needed. Applies to s1.

The live page returned 403; a 2025 Internet Archive capture was read in full in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-21. Includes the Indian Express's own interview with the lawyer. No translation was needed. Applies to s2.

Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-21 (HTTP 200). Own reporting with a police inspector's quotes. No translation was needed. Applies to s3.

Event countries: India. Affected-person countries: India. Court countries: Unknown.

Police in Karnataka, India, registered the cases, including the lawyer's complaint, and the reports place the victims in Karnataka districts.

Reviewed for publication 2026-10-21: Published because investigating police, as reported separately by PTI and the Indian Express, attributed the scheme's promotion to an AI-generated Trump video, and a lawyer's loss of Rs 5,93,240 after seeing such videos is reported from both his police complaint and his own interview. The police attribution's technical basis is undisclosed.

People described

An adult lawyer in Karnataka who deposited about Rs 5.9 lakh into the scheme; other investors across the state are reported to have complained. He is a private person and is not named here.

People reported harmed in this case

At least 1 person

0 AI participants · 1 other person harmed

Additional affected people are described without a reliable count.

One person counted: the lawyer, whose loss after seeing the video is reported by PTI (from police) and by the Indian Express (his own account). The Times of India reports more than 200 complainants and police claims of more than 800 investors, but the inspected sources do not establish how many of them saw the AI-generated video, so they are left unquantified. He did not use the AI tool, so he is counted under other people harmed.

Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.

Tags

#india#karnataka#investment-fraud#trump-impersonation#ai-generated-video#task-scam#youtube

Cite this case

Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.

APA

NOPE. (2026). Karnataka police say an AI-generated Trump video promoted a fake 'Trump Hotel Rental' investment app; a lawyer lost about Rs 5.9 lakh. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2025-karnataka-police-say-ai-generated-trump-video-promoted-trump-hotel-rental-investment-app-lawyer-lost-savings

BibTeX

@misc{2025_karnataka_police_say_ai_generated_trump_video_promoted_trump_hotel_rental_investment_app_lawyer_lost_savings,
  title = {Karnataka police say an AI-generated Trump video promoted a fake 'Trump Hotel Rental' investment app; a lawyer lost about Rs 5.9 lakh},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2025-karnataka-police-say-ai-generated-trump-video-promoted-trump-hotel-rental-investment-app-lawyer-lost-savings}
}

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