{
  "meta": {
    "exportedAt": "2026-09-22T17:47:25.951Z",
    "formatVersion": 2,
    "selection": {
      "q": "federal",
      "system": "",
      "harm": "",
      "context": "",
      "country": "",
      "role": "",
      "relation": "",
      "evidence": "",
      "year": "2025",
      "response": "regulatory",
      "severity": "",
      "verification": "",
      "view": "incidents",
      "sort": "added"
    },
    "totalIncidents": 2,
    "coverage": {
      "cases": 2,
      "countries": 1,
      "languages": 1,
      "unknownLocation": 0,
      "locationPending": 0,
      "unknownLanguage": 0,
      "unknownDate": 0,
      "lawsuits": 0,
      "regulatory": 2,
      "minors": 1,
      "coreRelations": 2,
      "contextualRelations": 0,
      "mixedRelations": 0,
      "unknownRelations": 0,
      "relationPending": 0,
      "relationUnknown": 0
    },
    "countingNote": "Distinct public cases in this selection. People counts apply within individual cases only; cross-case person overlap has not been resolved. No population incidence estimate.",
    "affectedCountNote": "Interpret person counts with affectedCountStatus and the reported effects. Unquantified zeros are placeholders, not a measured zero.",
    "source": "NOPE Incident Tracker",
    "url": "https://nope.net/incidents",
    "license": "CC BY 4.0"
  },
  "incidents": [
    {
      "id": "2026-leal-ai-impersonation-immigration-scam",
      "caseFacts": {
        "claims": [
          {
            "id": "c1",
            "status": "corroborated",
            "evidence": [
              {
                "locator": "'his image and name and even his voice have been cloned with artificial intelligence to deceive desperate immigrants'; 'fake contracts bearing his firm's logo, forged signatures, websites that mimic his site... entirely fabricated immigration hearings'.",
                "relation": "supports",
                "source_id": "s1"
              },
              {
                "locator": "'criminals are creating fake videos using his image, voice and name'; the WhatsApp-to-Zelle/Venmo script.",
                "relation": "supports",
                "source_id": "s2"
              },
              {
                "locator": "'scammers have used AI to produce fake immigration hearings over Zoom to dupe immigrants'.",
                "relation": "supports",
                "source_id": "s4"
              }
            ],
            "assertion": "Criminals used AI to clone Ángel Leal's image, name, voice, signature and firm logo, producing fake videos, look-alike websites, forged contracts and fabricated Zoom hearings that offered immigration services (residency, citizenship 'without an exam', work permits) he never provided.",
            "causal_attribution": "Leal's own account, carried by four independent outlets."
          },
          {
            "id": "c2",
            "status": "corroborated",
            "evidence": [
              {
                "locator": "'some victims end up with deportation orders without having filed any real paperwork, believing their case was in progress'; payments via Zelle/Venmo/Cash App.",
                "relation": "supports",
                "source_id": "s2"
              },
              {
                "locator": "'It's gotten to the point where I literally have one to two people every day, all day, answering calls of people who have been defrauded or scammed'.",
                "relation": "supports",
                "source_id": "s4"
              },
              {
                "locator": "Leal describes the harm to 'other people's needs'; ABA/AILA describe victims paying scammers who impersonated lawyers.",
                "relation": "context",
                "source_id": "s1"
              }
            ],
            "assertion": "Immigrants were defrauded of money paying for services Leal never provided, and some ended up with deportation orders believing their cases were in progress.",
            "causal_attribution": "Reported by Leal and immigration-lawyer groups; individual victims are not named and the total is not quantified."
          },
          {
            "id": "c3",
            "status": "corroborated",
            "evidence": [
              {
                "locator": "'6,454 fake profiles linked to these scams have been taken down' since March.",
                "relation": "supports",
                "source_id": "s2"
              },
              {
                "locator": "'in June alone... they had taken down over 6,600 fake videos and profiles'; 'Leal has filed a report with the Doral Police Department.'",
                "relation": "supports",
                "source_id": "s4"
              }
            ],
            "assertion": "Leal changed his phone number, hired an anti-piracy firm that removed thousands of fake profiles and videos (about 6,454 since March per NBC Miami; more than 6,600 by June per WLRN), and reported the fraud to Doral police and federal authorities.",
            "causal_attribution": "Leal and his anti-piracy vendor, as reported; the two removal figures cover different windows."
          }
        ],
        "effects": [
          {
            "label": "attorney's identity cloned with AI and used to defraud immigrants; reputational harm and business disruption to him, financial and legal harm to victims",
            "claim_id": "c1",
            "direction": "negative"
          }
        ],
        "sources": [
          {
            "id": "s1",
            "url": "https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/scammers-impersonate-immigration-lawyers-rcna348238",
            "kind": "news_report",
            "access": "read",
            "language": "en",
            "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-17 (datePublished 2026-06-04). NBC News national report; Leal interview, FTC/FBI context, ABA and AILA comment.",
            "independence_group": "nbc"
          },
          {
            "id": "s2",
            "url": "https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/south-florida-immigration-lawyers-identity-cloned-with-artificial-intelligence/3817579/",
            "kind": "news_report",
            "access": "read",
            "language": "en",
            "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-17 (datePublished 2026-06-05). NBC6 South Florida; Leal interview, fake videos and WhatsApp/Zelle scheme; story translated from Spanish with an AI tool and editor-reviewed.",
            "independence_group": "nbcmiami"
          },
          {
            "id": "s3",
            "url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/south-florida-immigration-attorney-says-ai-scammers-are-using-his-identity-to-target-immigrants/",
            "kind": "news_report",
            "access": "read",
            "language": "en",
            "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-17 via the Internet Archive capture 20260728171300 (CBS live returns HTTP 406); datePublished 2026-06-09. CBS News Miami; Leal interview, the $2,200 residency-video scheme, ~6,500 profiles removed.",
            "independence_group": "cbsmiami"
          },
          {
            "id": "s4",
            "url": "https://www.wlrn.org/immigration/2026-08-20/abogado-inmigracion-ai-scam-fraud",
            "kind": "news_report",
            "access": "read",
            "language": "en",
            "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-17 (datePublished 2026-08-20). WLRN Public Media; Leal realised the problem last October, one to two defrauded callers a day, 6,600+ removals in June, fake Zoom hearings, Doral police report.",
            "independence_group": "wlrn"
          }
        ],
        "version": 1,
        "ai_roles": [
          "others_use"
        ],
        "contexts": [
          "justice",
          "finance",
          "everyday_life"
        ],
        "unknowns": [
          "No individual defrauded immigrant is named and the total amount lost is not established; the reported per-victim figure (about $4,820/$5,000) comes from a Latin Times headline not inspected in full.",
          "No arrests are reported and no defendant is identified.",
          "Whether the fabricated 'deportation orders' outcome affected specific named people is not established."
        ],
        "geography": {
          "basis": "Event: South Florida (Doral/Miami); Leal practises there and reported to Doral police (WLRN, NBC Miami). Affected people are immigrants in South Florida. No court proceeding established.",
          "court_countries": [],
          "event_countries": [
            "US"
          ],
          "affected_person_countries": [
            "US"
          ]
        },
        "publication": {
          "basis": "Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as an AI-impersonation case with real harm: a named attorney's likeness and voice were cloned to defraud immigrants, causing him reputational and business harm and causing victims financial and reported legal harm. Four independent chains, including his own on-camera interviews; victim count left partial because individual victims are unquantified.",
          "reviewed_on": "2026-09-17"
        },
        "ai_involvement": {
          "basis": "Leal and multiple outlets state that his real videos were manipulated with AI to clone his face and voice; NBC News, NBC Miami, CBS Miami and WLRN carry his account, and an anti-piracy firm documented thousands of AI-generated fake profiles. The specific AI tools are not named.",
          "status": "supported"
        },
        "person_relations": [
          "depicted_or_impersonated"
        ]
      },
      "name": "Miami: scammers cloned immigration attorney Ángel Leal's face and voice with AI to defraud immigrants seeking legal help",
      "summary": "From around October 2025, criminals used AI to clone the image, voice, name, signature and firm logo of Ángel Leal, a long-established immigration attorney in Doral, Florida. They created fake videos, look-alike websites, forged contracts and even fabricated Zoom 'immigration hearings' to persuade immigrants to pay for legal services Leal never provided. Immigrants were defrauded of money, and some believed their cases were progressing when they were not; Leal received one to two defrauded callers a day, changed his phone number, hired an anti-piracy firm that removed thousands of fake profiles and videos, and reported the fraud to local police and federal authorities.",
      "incidentDate": "2025-10-01",
      "incidentKind": "ongoing_experience",
      "incidentDatePrecision": "month",
      "exposurePattern": "repeated_interactions",
      "reportedDate": "2026-06-04",
      "aiSystem": "AI voice- and video-cloning / deepfake tools (not identified in the inspected reporting)",
      "severity": "medium",
      "verificationStatus": "credible",
      "harmCategories": [],
      "harmOutcomes": [
        "reputational_harm",
        "financial_loss",
        "legal_harm"
      ],
      "harmOutcomeSummary": "An immigration attorney's identity was cloned with AI and used to defraud immigrants, causing him reputational harm and business disruption (he changed his phone number and hired an anti-piracy firm) and causing defrauded immigrants financial loss, with some reportedly left facing deportation orders after believing their cases were progressing.",
      "frameworkFacets": [],
      "causationStatus": "supported",
      "participantUsersAffectedMin": 0,
      "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 1,
      "affectedCountStatus": "partial",
      "affectedCountEvidence": "One counted, identified harmed person: Ángel Leal, whose likeness and voice were cloned and whose practice was disrupted. An unquantified additional group of immigrants was defrauded (Leal reports one to two defrauded callers a day; one legal immigrant reportedly lost about $4,820 per a Latin Times headline not inspected in full); no reliable victim count is established, so the status is partial.",
      "victimAgeRange": "adult",
      "jurisdiction": "US",
      "platformType": "other",
      "outcomeType": "investigation_opened",
      "outcomeStatus": "ongoing",
      "primarySourceUrl": "https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/scammers-impersonate-immigration-lawyers-rcna348238",
      "primarySourceLabel": "NBC News, 4 June 2026: Scammers impersonate immigration lawyers (Angel Leal interview; FTC/FBI context; ABA/AILA comment)",
      "firstPublishedAt": "2026-09-17T03:27:41.533841+00:00",
      "scopeVersion": "facts-v3",
      "tags": [
        "deepfake",
        "voice-clone",
        "impersonation",
        "immigration",
        "fraud",
        "united-states",
        "florida",
        "depicted-or-impersonated"
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "2025-heacock-ai-sextortion-death",
      "caseFacts": {
        "claims": [
          {
            "id": "c1",
            "status": "corroborated",
            "evidence": [
              {
                "locator": "'Local teenager Eli Heacock died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound last month'; 'he took his life on Feb 28'; 'at 11:30 p.m. on that Thursday night, Eli's twin sister found him'",
                "relation": "supports",
                "source_id": "s1"
              },
              {
                "locator": "'He died by suicide shortly after receiving the message, CBS affiliate KFDA reported'",
                "relation": "supports",
                "source_id": "s2"
              },
              {
                "locator": "'After their 16-year-old son died by suicide, a Kentucky family is pushing for stronger sextortion laws'",
                "relation": "supports",
                "source_id": "s3"
              },
              {
                "locator": "'Elijah Heacock died Feb. 28 at a local hospital, WBKO-TV reported'; 'the Barren County Sheriff's Office responded to the hospital on Feb. 27'",
                "relation": "supports",
                "source_id": "s4"
              }
            ],
            "assertion": "Elijah Heacock, 16, a Caverna High School student in Barren County, Kentucky, died by suicide on 28 February 2025 after being found injured at home on the night of 27 February.",
            "causal_attribution": "The death is reported independently by WKMS (own reporting) and CBS (citing KFDA), with Spectrum and the WBKO/ABC relay consistent; the 27/28 February dates come from WKMS and NewsNation."
          },
          {
            "id": "c2",
            "status": "corroborated",
            "evidence": [
              {
                "locator": "'During a search of Eli's phone, AI-generated images used to extort the young man were discovered. The offender created the images, some sexually explicit, and sent them to Eli. They then threatened to release the pictures unless Eli sent them $3,000.'",
                "relation": "supports",
                "source_id": "s1"
              },
              {
                "locator": "'when Elijah received a threatening text with an A.I.-generated nude photo of himself demanding he pay $3,000 to keep it from being sent to friends and family, everything changed'",
                "relation": "supports",
                "source_id": "s2"
              },
              {
                "locator": "'a perpetrator threatened him, saying he needed to send $3,000 or they would release sexually explicit images of him'",
                "relation": "supports",
                "source_id": "s3"
              },
              {
                "locator": "'fake, AI-generated nude images'; 'Though the photos were not real, it's unclear whether Elijah Heacock knew they were AI-generated.'",
                "relation": "supports",
                "source_id": "s4"
              }
            ],
            "assertion": "Investigators found on his phone AI-generated images of him, some sexually explicit, sent by an anonymous extortionist who threatened to release them unless he paid $3,000.",
            "causal_attribution": "WKMS attributes the AI-generated finding to investigators' search of the phone; CBS's account rests on the parents' interview. Whether he knew the images were fake is unknown (NewsNation)."
          },
          {
            "id": "c3",
            "status": "corroborated",
            "evidence": [
              {
                "locator": "'His parents told Spectrum News 1 that Heacock sent $50, but did not have enough to cover the rest.'",
                "relation": "supports",
                "source_id": "s3"
              },
              {
                "locator": "'Shannon Heacock said she found texts indicating that her son had sent some money to the scammer, to which the scammer replied, \"This is not enough,\" she told ABC News.'",
                "relation": "supports",
                "source_id": "s4"
              },
              {
                "locator": "Best friend: 'The last message I got from him was, \"I love you so much\"' after Eli asked to borrow money that night.",
                "relation": "context",
                "source_id": "s1"
              }
            ],
            "assertion": "He sent a partial payment of $50 and the extortionist replied that it was 'not enough'.",
            "causal_attribution": "Both accounts are the parents' descriptions of the messages on his phone, given to two separate outlets; the $50 figure appears only in Spectrum."
          },
          {
            "id": "c4",
            "status": "corroborated",
            "evidence": [
              {
                "locator": "'The FBI continues to investigate. The family hopes the exploiter will be caught and charged with murder.'",
                "relation": "supports",
                "source_id": "s1"
              },
              {
                "locator": "'a sheriff's detective reviewed Elijah Heacock's phone and escalated the case to the FBI'",
                "relation": "supports",
                "source_id": "s4"
              }
            ],
            "assertion": "The Barren County Sheriff's Office escalated the case to the FBI, which was still investigating; no arrest has been reported.",
            "causal_attribution": "Investigation status as of the inspected reports (March and June 2025); nothing later was inspected."
          },
          {
            "id": "c5",
            "status": "corroborated",
            "evidence": [
              {
                "locator": "'Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear signed a bill into law this month, making sextortion a felony. It also mandates education about sextortion in schools and in law enforcement agencies.'",
                "relation": "supports",
                "source_id": "s1"
              },
              {
                "locator": "'state lawmakers passed a bill that establishes sexual extortion as a felony, and mandates training about the topic at schools and law enforcement agencies. Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Kentucky, signed it into law.'; Rep. Guthrie on the Take It Down Act",
                "relation": "supports",
                "source_id": "s3"
              },
              {
                "locator": "'The recently-passed \"Take It Down\" Act... makes it a federal crime to post real and fake sexually explicit images'; 'They said they hope the \"Take It Down\" Act will make a difference.'",
                "relation": "supports",
                "source_id": "s2"
              }
            ],
            "assertion": "Kentucky's governor signed a law in March 2025 making sexual extortion a felony and mandating education in schools and law-enforcement agencies; the parents publicly supported the federal Take It Down Act, signed in May 2025.",
            "causal_attribution": "Legislative context reported by three outlets; the Kentucky law is described, not inspected."
          }
        ],
        "effects": [
          {
            "label": "a 16-year-old was extorted with AI-generated sexual images of himself and died by suicide",
            "claim_id": "c1",
            "direction": "negative"
          }
        ],
        "sources": [
          {
            "id": "s1",
            "url": "https://www.wkms.org/health/2025-03-24/suicide-of-ky-teen-investigated-as-financial-sextortion",
            "kind": "public_radio_news",
            "access": "read",
            "language": "en",
            "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-16 (datePublished 2025-03-24; WKU Public Radio, Lisa Autry); own interviews with his mother, father and best friend; quotes the KSP Electronic Crime Branch commander.",
            "independence_group": "wkms"
          },
          {
            "id": "s2",
            "url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sextortion-generative-ai-scam-elijah-heacock-take-it-down-act/",
            "kind": "news_report",
            "access": "read",
            "language": "en",
            "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-16 from the Internet Archive capture of 28 December 2025 (datePublished 2025-05-31; CBS Saturday Morning interview with the parents); the live URL answers HTTP 406 to this box. The article attributes the death report to CBS affiliate KFDA and the advocacy to WLKY.",
            "independence_group": "cbs"
          },
          {
            "id": "s3",
            "url": "https://spectrumnews1.com/ky/louisville/news/2025/04/10/sextortion-kentucky-elijah-heacock",
            "kind": "local_tv_news",
            "access": "read",
            "language": "en",
            "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-16 (datePublished 2025-04-10; Glasgow, Ky. dateline; the parents' own statements to Spectrum News 1).",
            "independence_group": "spectrum"
          },
          {
            "id": "s4",
            "url": "https://www.newsnationnow.com/business/tech/ai/teen-suicide-ai-images/",
            "kind": "news_report",
            "access": "read",
            "language": "en",
            "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-16 from the Internet Archive capture of 26 November 2025 (datePublished 2025-06-11); the live URL answers HTTP 403. NewsNation relays WBKO-TV and ABC News interviews with the parents, so it is grouped with those originals rather than counted as independent.",
            "independence_group": "wbko-abc"
          }
        ],
        "version": 1,
        "ai_roles": [
          "others_use"
        ],
        "contexts": [
          "everyday_life",
          "privacy"
        ],
        "unknowns": [
          "The tool used to generate the images and the identity or location of the extortionist are not reported; no arrest has been reported in the inspected sources.",
          "Whether he knew the images were AI-generated is unclear (NewsNation).",
          "When the extortion messages began is not reported; the record uses the night of 27 February (when his friend received his last messages and the sheriff reviewed the phone) and the 28 February death date.",
          "The earliest local report (WBKO-TV, cited by NewsNation) was not inspected: its URL answers HTTP 404; the reported_date uses the earliest inspected report (WKMS, 24 March 2025).",
          "The CBS article's cited affiliate reports (KFDA, WLKY) were not inspected.",
          "Investigation status after June 2025 was not researched in this review."
        ],
        "geography": {
          "basis": "Event and residence: Barren County (Glasgow area), Kentucky, per WKMS ('In southern Kentucky, the Barren County community') and Spectrum's Glasgow, Ky. dateline. No court proceeding is reported; the extortionist has not been identified.",
          "court_countries": [],
          "event_countries": [
            "US"
          ],
          "affected_person_countries": [
            "US"
          ]
        },
        "publication": {
          "basis": "Restored under the 2026-09-15 charter as a harmful-artifact case with a reported death: AI-generated sexual images of a minor were used to extort him and he died by suicide. The death and the AI connection are each carried by two independent inspected chains (WKMS own reporting and CBS), meeting the additional death rule; causation rests on investigators and the family, recorded as supported, not established. He is named because his parents campaign publicly in his name; the method of death is not described here.",
          "reviewed_on": "2026-09-16"
        },
        "ai_involvement": {
          "basis": "WKMS reports that investigators searching his phone found AI-generated images used to extort him, and quotes the Kentucky State Police Electronic Crime Branch commander on AI-generated exploitation; CBS separately describes the extortion message as carrying an AI-generated nude photo of him. The generation tool is not identified in any inspected source.",
          "status": "supported"
        },
        "person_relations": [
          "depicted_or_impersonated"
        ]
      },
      "name": "Kentucky: Elijah Heacock, 16, died by suicide after a sextortion demand backed by AI-generated nude images of him",
      "summary": "Elijah Heacock, a 16-year-old Caverna High School student in Barren County, Kentucky, died by suicide on 28 February 2025. Investigators searching his phone found AI-generated images of him, some sexually explicit, that an anonymous extortionist had sent with a demand for $3,000 and a threat to share them with his family and friends; his parents say he sent a small partial payment and was told it was 'not enough'. The Barren County Sheriff's Office escalated the case to the FBI, which was still investigating in the inspected reports; no arrest has been reported. His parents have campaigned publicly, Kentucky made sextortion a felony in March 2025, and the family supported the federal Take It Down Act.",
      "incidentDate": "2025-02-27",
      "incidentEndDate": "2025-02-28",
      "incidentKind": "single_event",
      "incidentDatePrecision": "range",
      "exposurePattern": "unknown",
      "reportedDate": "2025-03-24",
      "aiSystem": "AI image-generation or manipulation tools (unspecified; investigators described the extortion images as AI-generated)",
      "severity": "critical",
      "verificationStatus": "credible",
      "harmCategories": [],
      "harmOutcomes": [
        "death",
        "exploitation_or_abuse",
        "psychological_distress"
      ],
      "harmOutcomeSummary": "A 16-year-old was extorted with AI-generated sexual images of himself and a $3,000 demand, and died by suicide the same night his best friend received his last message; investigators and his parents connect the death to the sextortion.",
      "frameworkFacets": [],
      "causationStatus": "supported",
      "participantUsersAffectedMin": 0,
      "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 1,
      "affectedCountStatus": "exact",
      "affectedCountEvidence": "One person, Elijah Heacock, was depicted in the AI-generated images and died; his family members are not counted.",
      "victimAgeRange": "minor",
      "jurisdiction": "US",
      "platformType": "other",
      "outcomeType": "investigation_opened",
      "outcomeStatus": "ongoing",
      "primarySourceUrl": "https://www.wkms.org/health/2025-03-24/suicide-of-ky-teen-investigated-as-financial-sextortion",
      "primarySourceLabel": "WKMS / WKU Public Radio, 24 March 2025: investigators found AI-generated images used to extort him; KSP Electronic Crime Branch commander quoted",
      "firstPublishedAt": "2026-03-09T05:43:08.739008+00:00",
      "scopeVersion": "facts-v3",
      "tags": [
        "sextortion",
        "deepfake",
        "minor",
        "kentucky",
        "suicide",
        "depicted-or-impersonated",
        "take-it-down-act"
      ]
    }
  ]
}