{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-10-27T07:10:43.370Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"financial_loss","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"","evidence":"","year":"2025","response":"regulatory","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":14,"coverage":{"cases":14,"countries":5,"languages":5,"unknownLocation":3,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":0,"lawsuits":0,"regulatory":14,"minors":0,"coreRelations":14,"contextualRelations":2,"mixedRelations":2,"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":"AI incidents","publisher":"NOPE","url":"https://nope.net/incidents","license":"CC BY 4.0"},"incidents":[{"id":"2025-czech-constitutional-court-fines-lawyer-for-complaint-citing-non-existent-rulings-drafted-with-ai-tool","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"I.ÚS 3004/25 ze dne 1. 12. 2025; jako povinnému se ukládá pořádková pokuta ve výši 25 000 Kč; Pokutu uložil pouze ve čtvrtině zákonného rozpětí, neboť se povinný hrubého ztížení postupu řízení před Ústavním soudem dopustil poprvé a vadu podání lze ještě odstranit.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"On 1 December 2025 the presiding judge of a Constitutional Court chamber fined the lawyer 25,000 crowns for grossly obstructing proceedings, at a quarter of the statutory range because it was a first failing and the defect could still be remedied.","causal_attribution":"The fine responded to the filing; the order attributes the defects to the lawyer's failure to verify presumed AI output."},{"id":"c2","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"V ústavní stížnosti argumentoval celkem 12 rozhodnutími Ústavního soudu a Evropského soudu pro lidská práva. Po pečlivém prostudování ústavní stížnosti Ústavní soud zjistil, že podstatná část z těchto rozhodnutí vůbec neexistuje a část je povinným hrubě dezinterpretována.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The complaint argued from 12 decisions of the Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights, a substantial part of which did not exist and part of which were grossly misinterpreted.","causal_attribution":"Established by the court's own verification."},{"id":"c3","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"To vede Ústavní soud k domněnce, že povinný generoval podání pomocí některého z modelů umělé inteligence, poté však neověřil existenci citovaných rozhodnutí a správnost argumentace, resp. citace.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The court found signs of AI use in the complaint and presumed that the lawyer had generated it with an AI model and then failed to verify the citations and argument.","causal_attribution":"The order records the court's presumption of AI generation; the lawyer's confirmation is a separate claim (c4)."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Že opravdu použil při sepisování stížnosti umělou inteligenci, potvrdil INFO.CZ samotný advokát, který nad celou situací vyjádřil lítost.; Přiznává, že jeho chybou bylo, že výstup nedostatečně kontroloval a spolehl se na to, že uvedená judikatura odpovídá.; placený profesionální model AI, který nabízí některá z velkých společností provozujících komplexní právní informační systémy","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The lawyer confirmed to INFO.CZ that AI was used to write the complaint, said the output was not checked enough, and described the tool as a paid professional AI model from a large legal information system provider.","causal_attribution":"The lawyer attributes the false citations to the AI tool's output that was not checked."},{"id":"c5","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"Stěžovateli, prostřednictvím jeho právního zástupce, souběžně Ústavní soud zasílá výzvu k odstranění vad ústavní stížnosti, aby stěžovatel v důsledku postupu svého právního zástupce neutrpěl procesní újmu.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"I.ÚS 3004/25 ze dne 30. 1. 2026; Ústavní stížnost se odmítá.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The court invited the client to remedy the complaint so that the client would suffer no procedural harm, and later rejected the complaint as manifestly unfounded on 30 January 2026.","causal_attribution":"No source connects the rejection to the AI-generated citations."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Podle zdrojů INFO.CZ se kontrolní rada ČAK tímto konkrétním případem již zabývá. A to přestože se advokát soudu omluvil, pokutu zaplatil a klienta se jeho selhání nedotkne, neboť od ÚS dostal prostor na nápravu.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"Ústavní soud ocenil následný přístup advokáta, který pokutu obratem uhradil a zaslal omluvu.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"The lawyer apologised and paid the fine, and the Czech Bar Association's supervisory board was reported to be examining the case.","causal_attribution":"Consequence of the fine; the bar examination rests on INFO.CZ's unnamed sources."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Pokud jde o využití AI pro přípravu podání bez kontroly zdrojů, může se skutečně jednat o kárné provinění advokáta; Ve svých důsledcích by to mohlo vést k postihování advokáta obecně za podání, které soud vyhodnotí jako nekvalitní nebo s nesprávně aplikovanou judikaturou","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"The Czech Bar Association's president said using AI for a filing without checking sources may be a disciplinary offence, while the bar expressed reservations about courts fining lawyers for filings they judge to be of poor quality.","causal_attribution":"Context and a qualification of the sanction, not a causal claim."}],"effects":[{"label":"fined 25,000 crowns by the Constitutional Court over non-existent and misinterpreted rulings in an AI-drafted complaint","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"},{"label":"case reported to be under examination by the bar association's supervisory board","claim_id":"c6","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://nalus.usoud.cz/Search/GetText.aspx?sz=1-3004-25_1","kind":"court_decision","access":"read","language":"cs","translation_note":"Read in Czech on 2026-10-26 (HTTP 200); quoted passages were translated by the research agent (an AI). Order dated 1 December 2025 in the NALUS database; the client and lawyer are named in the order and are not reproduced here.","independence_group":"czech-constitutional-court-order-i-us-3004-25-dec-2025"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://nalus.usoud.cz/Search/GetText.aspx?sz=1-3004-25_2","kind":"court_decision","access":"read","language":"cs","translation_note":"Read in Czech on 2026-10-26 (HTTP 200); quoted passages were translated by the research agent (an AI). Resolution dated 30 January 2026 in the NALUS database.","independence_group":"czech-constitutional-court-resolution-i-us-3004-25-jan-2026"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.info.cz/zpravodajstvi-a-komentare/ustavni-soud-pokuta-advokat-umela-inteligence-ai","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"cs","translation_note":"Read in Czech on 2026-10-26 (HTTP 200); quoted passages were translated by the research agent (an AI). INFO.CZ broke the story and interviewed the fined lawyer; later reports relay its interview.","independence_group":"info-cz-lawyer-interview-dec-2025"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.info.cz/zpravodajstvi-a-komentare/pokuta-advokat-ai-justice-cak-vyhrady","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"cs","translation_note":"Read in Czech on 2026-10-26 (HTTP 200); quoted passages were translated by the research agent (an AI). Follow-up article with statements of the Czech Bar Association president and the presidents of the two top courts.","independence_group":"info-cz-bar-reaction-dec-2025"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://advokatnidenik.cz/2025/12/12/generativni-ai-prinesla-k-soudum-take-halucinace-ai-v-pravnich-podanich/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"cs","translation_note":"Read in Czech on 2026-10-26 (HTTP 200); quoted passages were translated by the research agent (an AI). Bar Association journal article credited to the ČTK news agency.","independence_group":"ctk-advokatni-denik-dec-2025"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["justice","work"],"unknowns":["The name of the AI tool and its provider; the lawyer declined to name it.","The date the complaint was filed (INFO.CZ says it reached the court in October 2025).","The outcome of the Czech Bar Association supervisory board's examination, if any."],"geography":{"basis":"The complaint was filed with, and the fine imposed by, the Czech Constitutional Court; the reports describe the lawyer as practising in Prague. Residence is not recorded as a country of the affected person.","court_countries":["CZ"],"event_countries":["CZ"],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a concrete adverse consequence of AI use: the Constitutional Court's order fines a lawyer for a complaint whose non-existent citations it presumes were generated with an AI model, and the lawyer confirmed using a paid legal AI tool without checking its output.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-26"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The Constitutional Court's order finds that a substantial part of the 12 decisions cited in the complaint did not exist, identifies signs of AI-generated text, and presumes the lawyer generated the filing with an AI model without verifying it; the lawyer confirmed to INFO.CZ that an AI tool, a paid professional model from a legal information system provider, was used and that its output was not checked enough. The tool's output reached the lawyer and went into the complaint (communicated_with), and the court read those invented authorities and fined the lawyer for them (informed_decision_about). The provider is not named.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with","informed_decision_about"]},"name":"Czech Constitutional Court fines a lawyer 25,000 crowns over a complaint citing non-existent rulings; the lawyer says a paid legal AI tool drafted it","summary":"On 1 December 2025 the presiding judge of a chamber of the Czech Constitutional Court fined a Prague lawyer 25,000 crowns (a quarter of the statutory maximum) for grossly obstructing proceedings. The lawyer had filed a constitutional complaint, for a client refused a temporary residence permit, that argued from 12 decisions of the Constitutional Court and the European Court of Human Rights; the court found that a substantial part of them did not exist and part were grossly misinterpreted. The order says the complaint showed signs of generative AI and that the court presumed the lawyer had generated it with an AI model and then failed to verify the citations. The lawyer confirmed to INFO.CZ that an AI tool was used, described it as a paid professional model from a legal information system provider, said the output was not checked enough, and expressed regret. The court invited the client to correct the complaint so that the client would suffer no procedural harm; the complaint was later rejected as manifestly unfounded on 30 January 2026. INFO.CZ reported on 10 December 2025 that the lawyer had apologised and paid the fine and that the Czech Bar Association's supervisory board was examining the case.","incidentDate":"2025-12-01","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"day","exposurePattern":"single_interaction","reportedDate":"2025-12-03","aiSystem":"A paid professional AI model offered by a legal information system provider, used to draft a constitutional complaint (provider not named; the court inferred generative AI from the text and the lawyer confirmed its use)","aiProduct":"Unidentified legal research tool","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["financial_loss","legal_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"According to the Constitutional Court's order, a lawyer whose complaint cited non-existent and misinterpreted rulings, which the court presumed were AI-generated and the lawyer says came from a paid legal AI tool, was fined 25,000 crowns; INFO.CZ reported that the bar association's supervisory board was examining the case.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"established","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person: the lawyer fined by the Constitutional Court. The court invited the client to remedy the complaint so that the client would suffer no procedural harm, and INFO.CZ reports that the client was not affected, so the client is not counted.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"CZ","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"regulatory_action","outcomeStatus":"resolved","primarySourceUrl":"https://nalus.usoud.cz/Search/GetText.aspx?sz=1-3004-25_1","primarySourceLabel":"Czech Constitutional Court, order I. US 3004/25 imposing a disciplinary fine (1 December 2025)","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-26T03:09:43.763021+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-26T03:09:43.763021+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["czechia","legal-profession","hallucinated-citations","court-fine","constitutional-court"]},{"id":"2025-karnataka-police-say-ai-generated-trump-video-promoted-trump-hotel-rental-investment-app-lawyer-lost-savings","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'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'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'The police said cybercriminals used the AI-generated video of Donald Trump to dupe people in Bengaluru, Tumakuru, Mangaluru, and Haveri.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"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."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'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.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'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.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"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."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'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.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"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."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'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.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'has been used to dupe more than 200 people in the last few months in several cities of Karnataka'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"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."}],"effects":[{"label":"lawyer lost Rs 5,93,240 deposited into the fake app after the video","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.theweek.in/wire-updates/national/2025/05/26/mes19-ka-cyber-fraud.html","kind":"wire_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"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.","independence_group":"pti-haveri-police"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/bangalore/ai-generated-trump-video-dupe-people-karnataka-10029617/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"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.","independence_group":"indian-express-karnataka"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/trump-app-over-200-in-karnataka-fall-prey-to-investment-fraud-lose-rs-2-crore/articleshow/121428182.cms","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"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.","independence_group":"times-of-india-bengaluru"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["finance"],"unknowns":["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."],"geography":{"basis":"Police in Karnataka, India, registered the cases, including the lawyer's complaint, and the reports place the victims in Karnataka districts.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["IN"],"affected_person_countries":["IN"]},"publication":{"basis":"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.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-21"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"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.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Karnataka police say an AI-generated Trump video promoted a fake 'Trump Hotel Rental' investment app; a lawyer lost about Rs 5.9 lakh","summary":"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.","incidentDate":"2025-01-25","incidentEndDate":"2025-04-04","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"day","exposurePattern":"single_interaction","reportedDate":"2025-05-26","aiSystem":"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","aiProduct":"Unidentified video tool","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["financial_loss"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"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.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"partial","affectedCountEvidence":"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.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"IN","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"investigation_opened","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.theweek.in/wire-updates/national/2025/05/26/mes19-ka-cyber-fraud.html","primarySourceLabel":"PTI via The Week: Karnataka lawyer duped by cyber fraudsters using AI-generated Trump video (26 May 2025)","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-21T03:05:31.782805+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-21T03:05:31.782805+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["india","karnataka","investment-fraud","trump-impersonation","ai-generated-video","task-scam","youtube"]},{"id":"2025-sixth-circuit-removes-appointed-defence-lawyer-over-cocounsel-drafted-briefs-delaying-indigent-defendants-appeal","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'qualified for a two-level enhancement under § 3B1.1(c) of the Sentencing Guidelines for his leadership role during drug-trafficking activities.'; 'serving as court-appointed counsel for an indigent defendant through a publicly funded program'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"A lawyer appointed under the Criminal Justice Act represented an indigent defendant appealing a two-level leadership enhancement to his drug-trafficking sentence in the Sixth Circuit.","causal_attribution":"The court's own description of the appointment and the appeal."},{"id":"c2","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'The first tell was the file name of the principal brief:'; '“CoCounsel Skill Results.” CoCounsel is the name of Westlaw’s internal artificial-intelligence'; 'But the purported direct quotations do not appear in their cited sources.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'The first tell was the file name of the principal brief: \"CoCounsel Skill Results.\" CoCounsel is the name of Westlaw's internal artificial-intelligence platform.'; 'But the purported direct quotations do not appear in their cited sources.'; 'misrepresent the holdings of both United States v. Washington'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The court found that the principal brief's file name was 'CoCounsel Skill Results', that three quotations in the briefs appear in no legal authority, and that the briefs misrepresented the holdings of two precedents.","causal_attribution":"The court's findings, quoted verbatim in the Volokh post; the opinion PDF carries the same text."},{"id":"c3","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'he directed an unnamed “staff” member to'; 'upload district court documents to Westlaw’s CoCounsel program to create a first draft of the'; 'repeated that same process for the reply brief.'; 'He concedes that the three inaccurate quotations'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'he directed an unnamed \"staff\" member to upload district court documents to Westlaw's CoCounsel program to create a first draft of the principal brief.'; 'He concedes that the three inaccurate quotations identified above were the product of artificial intelligence, that they do not appear in any legal authorities'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The lawyer admitted that a staff member uploaded district court documents to Westlaw's CoCounsel to create a first draft of the principal brief, that he repeated the process for the reply, and that the three inaccurate quotations were produced by artificial intelligence and not verified.","causal_attribution":"The lawyer's show-cause response as the court records it; the court's opinion documents the admission."},{"id":"c4","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'shall not be compensated under the Criminal Justice Act for his time spent on'; 'to consider disciplinary proceedings under Sixth'; 'Disciplinary Clerk for the Kentucky Bar Association'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The court ordered that the lawyer receive no Criminal Justice Act compensation for the appeal, forwarded the opinion to the circuit's chief judge to consider disciplinary proceedings, and served it on the Kentucky Bar Association's disciplinary clerk.","causal_attribution":"The court's orders."},{"id":"c5","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'different appellate counsel to file new briefs—further delaying resolution of'; 'reset the briefing schedule upon appointment of replacement counsel.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"By a separate order the same day the court removed the lawyer, directed the appointment of replacement counsel, locked the briefs he had filed and reset the briefing schedule, which the court said further delayed resolution of the defendant's criminal appeal.","causal_attribution":"The court's own account of its separate order and of the delay."},{"id":"c6","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'utilizing Westlaw CoCounsel “in this way for a Court of Appeals brief.”'; 'has never been disciplined over his 40-year career'; 'candor in acknowledging his improper use of artificial intelligence.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'first time utilizing Westlaw CoCounsel \"in this way for a Court of Appeals brief.\"'; 'has never been disciplined over his 40-year career'; 'his candor in acknowledging his improper use of artificial intelligence.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The lawyer said this was his first use of CoCounsel in this way for an appeals brief and that he had not been disciplined in a 40-year career; the court acknowledged his timely response and candour while finding his conduct inexcusable.","causal_attribution":"The lawyer's explanations and the court's assessment, as the opinion records them; recorded as mitigation."},{"id":"c7","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'***LOCKED PURSUANT TO ORDER ENTERED 04/03/2026***APPELLANT BRIEF filed by'; 'Certificate of Service: 10/21/2025. Argument Request: not requested. [25-5623]'; '***LOCKED PURSUANT TO ORDER ENTERED 04/03/2026***REPLY BRIEF filed by Attorney'; 'Certificate of Service: 12/26/2025. [25-5623]'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The docket records that the principal brief for the defendant was filed on 21 October 2025 and the reply brief on 26 December 2025, and that both entries were locked under the order of 3 April 2026.","causal_attribution":"Clerk docket entries; they date the filings and do not describe their contents."}],"effects":[{"label":"indigent defendant's criminal appeal delayed while replacement counsel files new briefs","claim_id":"c5","direction":"negative"},{"label":"court-appointed lawyer denied compensation for the appeal and referred for disciplinary consideration","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.opn.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/26a0105p-06.pdf","kind":"court_order","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Sixth Circuit published per curiam opinion, No. 25-5623, decided and filed 3 April 2026; PDF read in full (HTTP 200).","independence_group":"sixth-circuit-opinion-3-apr-2026"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://reason.com/volokh/2026/04/09/the-first-tell-was-the-file-name-of-the-principal-brief-cocounsel-skill-results/","kind":"commentary_with_filing_excerpt","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"The Volokh Conspiracy (Reason), 9 April 2026, quoting the same opinion at length; read in full (HTTP 200). Same origin as the opinion.","independence_group":"sixth-circuit-opinion-3-apr-2026"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.courtlistener.com/api/rest/v4/search/?q=docket_id%3A70724463%20BRIEF&type=rd","kind":"court_docket_index","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"CourtListener search API listing of docket entries for Sixth Circuit No. 25-5623 (RECAP), read on 2026-10-19 (HTTP 200); entry descriptions as entered by the clerk. Party and counsel names in the entries are not reproduced.","independence_group":"sixth-circuit-docket-25-5623"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use","others_use"],"contexts":["justice","work"],"unknowns":["How long the appeal is delayed, and the outcome of any disciplinary proceedings."],"geography":{"basis":"The appeal is from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and the lawyer practises in Kentucky (opinion).","court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published with communicated_with and informed_decision_about: the court documents that a court-appointed defence lawyer filed briefs drafted with Westlaw's CoCounsel that carried quotations found in no authority, and, acting on those briefs, removed him, ordered new counsel and briefing that delayed the indigent defendant's criminal appeal, and denied him compensation. The harm reaches a criminal defendant who did not use the tool.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-19"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The court found that the principal brief's file name was 'CoCounsel Skill Results' and that three quotations in the briefs appear in no legal authority. The lawyer admitted that a staff member used Westlaw's CoCounsel to produce the first draft, that he repeated the process for the reply, and that the false quotations were produced by artificial intelligence. Reading those briefs, the court removed him, ordered new counsel and new briefs for the defendant, and denied him compensation.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with","informed_decision_about"]},"name":"Sixth Circuit removes court-appointed defence lawyer over CoCounsel-drafted briefs with false quotations, delaying an indigent defendant's appeal","summary":"In a published opinion of 3 April 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit addressed the briefs a lawyer appointed under the Criminal Justice Act had filed for an indigent defendant appealing a sentencing enhancement in a drug-trafficking case. The court noticed that the principal brief's file name was 'CoCounsel Skill Results' and found three quotations that appear in no legal authority and misstatements of two precedents. The lawyer admitted that a staff member had used Westlaw's CoCounsel to create the first draft, that he repeated the process for the reply, and that the false quotations came from artificial intelligence he did not verify. The court denied him compensation for the appeal, referred the opinion for possible disciplinary proceedings and to the Kentucky Bar Association, and by separate order removed him, locked his briefs and ordered replacement counsel to file new ones, which it said further delayed resolution of the defendant's appeal. The court acknowledged his candour and his 40 years without discipline.","incidentDate":"2025-10-21","incidentEndDate":"2026-04-03","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"day","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2026-04-03","aiSystem":"Westlaw CoCounsel (Thomson Reuters), used by a lawyer's staff member to produce the first drafts of a principal and a reply brief","aiProduct":"CoCounsel","aiCompany":"Thomson Reuters","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["legal_harm","professional_harm","financial_loss"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The court documents that briefs drafted with Westlaw's CoCounsel and filed unverified by a court-appointed lawyer led it to remove him and order new counsel and briefs, further delaying an indigent defendant's criminal appeal; the lawyer was denied compensation for the appeal and referred for disciplinary consideration.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"established","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":2,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"Two: the defendant, whose appeal the court says was further delayed, and the lawyer, who was denied compensation and referred. The lawyer's staff member ran the tool and is not counted; no other harmed person is described.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"US","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"regulatory_action","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.opn.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/26a0105p-06.pdf","primarySourceLabel":"U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, No. 25-5623, opinion decided and filed 3 April 2026","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-19T03:16:56.688661+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-19T03:16:56.688661+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["legal","ai-fabricated-quotations","court-appointed-counsel","criminal-appeal","sanction","cocounsel"]},{"id":"2025-pune-police-say-man-lost-rs-43-lakh-after-deepfake-video-of-narayana-murthy-and-sudha-murty","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'recently fell prey to a deepfake video of Infosys founder Narayana Murthy and his wife Sudha Murty promoting AI-based share trading tools and lost Rs 43 lakh to a cyber scam, said the police.'; 'He subsequently approached the cybercrime police station of Pune, and after a preliminary inquiry, the police filed the FIR.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'reportedly had fallen prey to a deepfake video of Murty and her husband, Narayana Murthy, and lost Rs 43 lakh.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Pune police said a man from Pune fell prey to a deepfake video of Infosys founder Narayana Murthy and Sudha Murty promoting AI-based share trading tools and lost Rs 43 lakh to a cyber scam; the police filed an FIR on his complaint after a preliminary inquiry by the cybercrime police station.","causal_attribution":"The police account as reported by The Indian Express; NDTV's later mention adds no independent source."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The advertisement allegedly promised a return of Rs 17 lakh after 28 days of initial investment of Rs 21,000 in a stock.'; 'The probe later revealed that it was a deepfake video that claimed that the initial investment of Rs 21,000 would grow manifold through a platform that uses AI tools for market analysis and investment strategy.'; 'The video also allegedly included deepfake testimonials of investors who claimed to have profited immensely.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"According to the complaint, the man saw an Instagram advertisement promising a return of Rs 17 lakh after 28 days on an initial Rs 21,000 investment; the link led to a video of Narayana Murthy and Sudha Murty which, The Indian Express reports, the probe later revealed was a deepfake claiming the investment would grow through a platform using AI tools, and which allegedly also included deepfake testimonials of investors.","causal_attribution":"The complainant's account and the probe's finding as reported; the technical basis for calling the video a deepfake is not stated."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Between February and May this year, the complainant allegedly received over 120 calls from international numbers in which the callers gave him various reasons to make more transfers, at times forcing him to do so.'; 'he was advised to borrow money from friends or take personal loans.'; 'the complainant allegedly made a total of 19 transfers worth Rs 43.68 lakh to fraudulent mule accounts.'; 'the callers went incommunicado, and he realised that he had been cheated.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"According to the complaint and the police, after an initial Rs 21,000 transfer the man received more than 120 calls from international numbers between February and May 2025, was pressured and at times coerced into further transfers and advised to borrow from friends or take personal loans, and made 19 transfers totalling Rs 43.68 lakh to mule accounts before the callers stopped responding.","causal_attribution":"The complainant's allegations and the police account as reported; the loss is the complaint's figure."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'He claimed that then he sought to finally make a withdrawal as he had exhausted all his savings'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The man said he sought a withdrawal after exhausting all his savings.","causal_attribution":"The complainant's own statement as reported."}],"effects":[{"label":"loss of Rs 43.68 lakh in transfers to a fake share-trading platform","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"},{"label":"savings exhausted","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/deepfake-video-narayana-murthy-sudha-murty-share-trading-cyber-fraud-10173720/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"The Indian Express (Pune), 6 August 2025, reporting the police account and the FIR; the live URL returned HTTP 403 and the Internet Archive capture was read in full.","independence_group":"indian-express-pune-police-aug-2025"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/sudha-murtys-deepfake-video-used-for-investment-scam-she-reacts-9845698","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"NDTV, 19 December 2025, a report on a later deepfake of Sudha Murty that mentions the Pune loss in one sentence marked 'reportedly'; the live URL returned HTTP 403 and the Internet Archive capture was read in full. Grouped with The Indian Express because it adds no independent account of the Pune case.","independence_group":"indian-express-pune-police-aug-2025"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["finance"],"unknowns":["How the police established that the video was a deepfake, and which tool produced it.","Who ran the advertisement and the platform, and whether any money was traced or recovered.","The outcome of the police investigation."],"geography":{"basis":"The Indian Express reports that the Pune police registered the FIR on the complaint of a man from Pune, and the cybercrime police station of Pune conducted the preliminary inquiry. Where the platform's callers and accounts operated is not stated.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["IN"],"affected_person_countries":["IN"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (depicted_or_impersonated): the Pune police say a man was drawn into a share-trading fraud by a deepfake video of Narayana Murthy and Sudha Murty reached through an Instagram advertisement, and lost Rs 43.68 lakh in 19 transfers between February and May 2025 after being pressured by callers. The police attribution's technical basis is undisclosed, and the loss figure is the complaint's.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-18"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The Pune police, who registered the man's complaint after a preliminary inquiry, say he fell prey to a deepfake video of Narayana Murthy and Sudha Murty promoting share-trading tools, and The Indian Express reports that the probe revealed the video he was directed to from an Instagram advertisement was a deepfake, which allegedly also included deepfake investor testimonials. The video impersonated the two public figures toward him and led him to the platform whose callers obtained his transfers. The police do not disclose how they established that the video was AI-generated or name the tool.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Pune police say a man lost Rs 43 lakh in a share-trading fraud after a deepfake video of Narayana Murthy and Sudha Murty drew him in","summary":"The Indian Express reported in August 2025 that, according to the Pune police, a man from Pune fell prey to a deepfake video of Infosys founder Narayana Murthy and Sudha Murty promoting AI-based share-trading tools and lost Rs 43 lakh. According to the complaint, an Instagram advertisement promised Rs 17 lakh in 28 days on a Rs 21,000 investment and led to the video, which the probe found to be a deepfake; the video also allegedly included deepfake investor testimonials. Between February and May 2025 he received more than 120 calls from international numbers, was pressured and at times coerced into further payments, was advised to borrow from friends or take loans, and made 19 transfers totalling Rs 43.68 lakh to mule accounts before the callers stopped responding and he had exhausted his savings. The police registered an FIR after a preliminary inquiry. They do not say how they established that the video was a deepfake.","incidentDate":"2025-02-01","incidentEndDate":"2025-05-01","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2025-08-06","aiSystem":"An unidentified tool used to produce a deepfake video of Narayana Murthy and Sudha Murty, with what were allegedly deepfake investor testimonials, promoting a share-trading platform; the police describe it as a deepfake and name no tool","aiProduct":"Unidentified video tool","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["financial_loss"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"According to the police account and his complaint, the man made 19 transfers totalling Rs 43.68 lakh to mule accounts between February and May 2025 and exhausted his savings.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person: the complainant described in the Pune police case, who lost Rs 43.68 lakh. The two depicted public figures are not counted because no response or consequence for them in this case is reported.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"IN","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"investigation_opened","outcomeStatus":"unknown","primarySourceUrl":"https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/deepfake-video-narayana-murthy-sudha-murty-share-trading-cyber-fraud-10173720/","primarySourceLabel":"The Indian Express, 6 August 2025: Pune man falls for deepfake video of Narayana Murthy and Sudha Murty, loses Rs 43 lakh","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-18T03:09:28.864572+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-18T03:09:28.864572+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["investment_fraud","deepfake_video","fake_celebrity_endorsement","share_trading_fraud","india"]},{"id":"2025-sweden-authorities-say-ai-made-ads-of-finance-profiles-drew-savers-into-pump-and-dump-frauds","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Över 5 000 svenskar har förlorat sammanlagt en halv miljard kronor i år i så kallade \"pump and dump\"-bedrägerier.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'Hittills har över 5 000 svenska småsparare gått miste om en halv miljard kronor i bedrägerierna, enligt Finansinspektionen.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"'Enligt Finansinspektionens senaste siffror har omkring 5 000 svenskar drabbats i år och förlorat sammanlagt en halv miljard kronor till bedragarna.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"'ska enligt den svenska tillsynsmyndigheten FI ha lurat mer än 5 000 svenskar. Totalt uppgår summan till en halv miljard kronor som bedragarna tillskansat sig.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"Several outlets, citing Finansinspektionen (the Swedish financial supervisor), reported in October 2025 that more than 5,000 small savers in Sweden had lost a total of about half a billion kronor that year in so-called pump-and-dump share frauds.","causal_attribution":"Finansinspektionen's figure for pump-and-dump frauds as a whole, relayed by several outlets (one origin); it does not say how many of these savers saw an AI-made advert."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'”Vissa privatpersoner har förlorat flera miljoner kronor”, säger Jimmy Kvarnström, chef för avdelningen Marknader på Finansinspektionen (FI), till SVT:s Ekonomibyrån.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"A Finansinspektionen head of department told SVT that some private individuals had lost several million kronor.","causal_attribution":"Statement of a supervisory official as relayed from SVT."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'– Det som är skillnad nu är att det är en förfinad metod där man använder sig av senaste tekniken med AI. Jag kan inte gå närmare in på vilka utredningar vi bedriver eftersom det råder förundersökningssekretess, säger Björn Rygart.'; '– Det vi ser nu är en ny typ av tillvägagångssätt, som styrs från utlandet.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"An investigator (kammarkommissarie) at the Swedish Economic Crime Authority told TT that the frauds were a new, refined method using the latest AI technology, run from abroad, and that the investigator could not describe the authority's investigations because of preliminary-investigation secrecy.","causal_attribution":"The investigating authority's attribution of AI use to the method; it does not say how the AI use was established or which tools were used."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Standardförfarandet är ett tips på Facebook där en känd ekonomiprofil berättar om en säker aktieinvestering.'; '– Jag och omkring 15 – 20 andra finansprofiler har använts. Den som luras anmodas att gå med i en whats up-grupp där man kommer få våra bästa aktietips helt utan kostnad'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"According to TV4, the usual pattern began with a tip on Facebook in which a well-known finance profile appeared to recommend a safe share investment; the investor interviewed said those deceived were asked to join a WhatsApp group promising free share tips, and that he and about 15 to 20 other finance profiles had been used.","causal_attribution":"TV4's description and the investor's account; one outlet."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Günter Mårder fick veta att han förekom i sammanhanget när folk började höra av sig till honom.'; '– Det handlade om 30, 40 annonser. Det började komma AI-producerade filmer, där jag pratade och stod inne på redaktionen på Dagens Industri där jag är krönikör'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The investor said he learned of the scheme when people began contacting him, that it involved 30 to 40 adverts, and that AI-produced films appeared in which he spoke in the newsroom of the paper where he is a columnist or in a podcast studio he was associated with.","causal_attribution":"The depicted investor's own description of the adverts, reported by TV4; the films are not shown to have been examined."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'– Hela sommaren gick åt till att hantera alla frågor som kom. Det gör ont eftersom det är inom ett fält där jag och de andra har vår profession.'; 'Jag är besviken på Meta som inte håller rent på sin egen gård.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The investor said that his whole summer went on handling the questions that came in, that it hurt because it concerned his profession and reputation, and that he was disappointed in Meta for not keeping its platform clean.","causal_attribution":"His own account to TV4."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Ekonomijournalisten Gabriel Mellqvist, vars identitet utnyttjats, uttrycker frustration över att Meta, som äger Facebook, inte agerar mot de falska profilerna.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'Swedish financial journalist Gabriel Mellqvist is one such profile whose identity has been deepfaked using AI to con investors'; 'frustrated that his professional reputation is being damaged.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'– Jag känner stor frustration. Jag tycker det är bedrövligt att stora bolag inte tar i med hårdhandskarna mot sånt här, säger han till SR Ekot.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"Sveriges Radio reported that a financial journalist's identity had been used in fake Facebook profiles by the fraudsters; its English service said his identity had been deepfaked using AI and that he was frustrated that his professional reputation was being damaged, and he told SR he felt great frustration that large companies such as Meta did not act harder against it.","causal_attribution":"Sveriges Radio's report and its interview with the journalist (Omni relays the same interview); the AI description of his case is SR's English-service wording."}],"effects":[{"label":"savers' losses in pump-and-dump share frauds promoted with finance profiles' likenesses","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"},{"label":"depicted investor's summer spent answering questions and harm to professional reputation","claim_id":"c6","direction":"negative"},{"label":"depicted financial journalist's frustration at damage to professional reputation","claim_id":"c7","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.tv4.se/artikel/6YQRkByHXwnifKU4fHbRN1/finansprofiler-utnyttjas-av-bedragare-5000-svenskar-har-blivit-lurade","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"sv","translation_note":"Read in Swedish by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-17 and translated into English by the research agent (an AI); no human translator or reviewer was involved. TV4 Nyheterna report of 24 October 2025 with its own interview of the investor; read in full (HTTP 200). Its savers figure is unattributed in TV4's text and matches the Finansinspektionen figure other outlets attribute.","independence_group":"tv4-24-oct-2025"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.sverigesradio.se/artikel/smasparare-lurade-pa-halv-miljard-bedragare-ai-fejkar-finansprofiler","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"sv","translation_note":"Read in Swedish by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-17 and translated into English by the research agent (an AI); no human translator or reviewer was involved. Sveriges Radio Ekot item of 30 October 2025; the live URL returned HTTP 403 and the Internet Archive capture was read in full (text standfirst of a radio piece).","independence_group":"sveriges-radio-ekot-30-oct-2025"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.sverigesradio.se/artikel/thousands-of-small-savers-in-sweden-conned-out-of-millions-in-ai-powered-deepfake-investment-scams","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Sveriges Radio's English service (Radio Sweden) version of 31 October 2025 of the same Ekot report; live URL HTTP 403, Internet Archive capture read in full. Same origin as the Swedish item.","independence_group":"sveriges-radio-ekot-30-oct-2025"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://omni.se/profilen-rasar-mot-meta-jag-kanner-stor-frustration/a/yELAAJ","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"sv","translation_note":"Read in Swedish by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-17 and translated into English by the research agent (an AI); no human translator or reviewer was involved. Omni summary of 30 October 2025 relaying the journalist's interview with SR Ekot and the Finansinspektionen figure; read in full (HTTP 200). Grouped with SR because the quotation is SR's.","independence_group":"sveriges-radio-ekot-30-oct-2025"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://efn.se/ny-avancerad-ai-brottsvag-tusentals-svenskar-lurade-forfinad-metod","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"sv","translation_note":"Read in Swedish by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-17 and translated into English by the research agent (an AI); no human translator or reviewer was involved. EFN report of 26 October 2025 carrying the Economic Crime Authority investigator's statements given to the TT news agency; read in full (HTTP 200).","independence_group":"tt-economic-crime-authority-interview-oct-2025"},{"id":"s6","url":"https://www.dagensps.se/bors-finans/aktier/over-5-000-smasparare-blasta-i-nya-bedrageriet/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"sv","translation_note":"Read in Swedish by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-17 and translated into English by the research agent (an AI); no human translator or reviewer was involved. Dagens PS report of 20 October 2025 relaying SVT Ekonomibyrån's report and the Finansinspektionen official's statement to SVT; read in full (HTTP 200).","independence_group":"svt-ekonomibyran-oct-2025"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["finance","work"],"unknowns":["How many of the savers counted by Finansinspektionen saw an AI-made advert rather than another kind of tip, and their individual losses.","How the Economic Crime Authority established that AI was used, and which tools generated the films or images.","Whether any defrauded saver saw an advert depicting the investor or the journalist interviewed.","Whether Meta removed the adverts, and the outcome of the Economic Crime Authority's investigations."],"geography":{"basis":"Finansinspektionen's figure counts savers in Sweden, and the depicted investor and journalist are Swedish finance figures interviewed by Swedish media. The Economic Crime Authority says the frauds are run from abroad and no source locates the adverts' operation, so event countries are left unknown.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":["SE"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (depicted_or_impersonated): the Economic Crime Authority says the 2025 pump-and-dump frauds against Swedish savers use AI, a depicted investor describes AI-produced films of himself in the adverts and the time and reputational cost to him, and a depicted financial journalist describes damage to his reputation. Finansinspektionen's savers figure is recorded without being tied to the AI adverts, and the AI attribution's technical basis is undisclosed.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-17"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"An investigator at the Swedish Economic Crime Authority, which is investigating these frauds, told TT that the pump-and-dump frauds use a refined method with the latest AI technology. The investor depicted in the adverts says AI-produced films showed him speaking in places associated with him, and that the adverts drew people towards a WhatsApp share-tip group. Finansinspektionen's figures describe the savers' losses. The authority does not say how the AI use was established or which tools were used, and no source examined a particular film.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Sweden: Economic Crime Authority says pump-and-dump share frauds on small savers used AI; an investor describes AI-made adverts of himself","summary":"In October 2025 Swedish media, citing Finansinspektionen, reported that more than 5,000 small savers had lost about half a billion kronor that year in pump-and-dump share frauds, and a Finansinspektionen official said some had lost several million kronor. An investigator at the Economic Crime Authority told TT that the frauds, run from abroad, use a refined method with the latest AI technology. TV4 described the usual pattern as a Facebook tip in which a well-known finance profile appears to recommend a safe investment, leading to a WhatsApp group. The investor Günter Mårder said 30 to 40 adverts and AI-produced films showed him speaking, that about 15 to 20 finance profiles had been used, and that his whole summer went on handling questions. Sveriges Radio reported that the financial journalist Gabriel Mellqvist's identity had been used and that he was frustrated at the damage to his professional reputation and at Meta's inaction. The authority does not say how the AI use was established, and the savers figure is not tied to the AI adverts.","incidentDate":"2025-01-01","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"year","exposurePattern":"single_interaction","reportedDate":"2025-10-20","aiSystem":"Unidentified tools used by fraudsters to produce films and images imitating well-known Swedish finance profiles in Facebook investment adverts; the Economic Crime Authority describes the method as using AI and names no tool","aiProduct":"Unidentified image and video tool","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["financial_loss","reputational_harm","psychological_distress"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Finansinspektionen, as relayed, counts over 5,000 savers who lost about half a billion kronor in 2025 pump-and-dump frauds; a depicted investor says his summer went on answering questions and that it hurt professionally, and a depicted financial journalist describes frustration at damage to his reputation.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":2,"affectedCountStatus":"partial","affectedCountEvidence":"The two depicted finance figures who describe adverse consequences are counted: the investor (TV4) and the financial journalist (Sveriges Radio, relayed by Omni). Finansinspektionen's figure of over 5,000 defrauded savers covers pump-and-dump frauds as a whole and is not tied to the AI adverts saver by saver, so the savers are an unquantified remainder.","victimAgeRange":"unknown","jurisdiction":"SE","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"investigation_opened","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.tv4.se/artikel/6YQRkByHXwnifKU4fHbRN1/finansprofiler-utnyttjas-av-bedragare-5000-svenskar-har-blivit-lurade","primarySourceLabel":"TV4 Nyheterna, 24 October 2025: finance profiles exploited by fraudsters, 5,000 Swedes deceived","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-17T03:02:11.418899+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-17T03:06:43.830977+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["deepfake_advert","investment_fraud","pump_and_dump","finance_profile_likeness","sweden"]},{"id":"2025-massachusetts-federal-court-sanctions-out-of-state-lawyer-who-admitted-ai-drafting-brief-with-fictitious-citations","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'Defendants filed a Motion to Strike the Second Amended Complaint on November 21, 2025'; 'Within five hours of the Enterprise Defendants' filing of the Motion to Strike'; 'The Strike Opposition was replete with inaccurate citations, including:'; 'Attributing a quotation to a case with a fictitious Westlaw citation.'; 'Citing to a non-existent case.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The court found that an opposition filed on 21 November 2025 by the plaintiff's pro hac vice lawyer was replete with inaccurate citations, including a quotation attributed to a case with a fictitious Westlaw citation, and that a later opposition cited a non-existent case.","causal_attribution":"The court's own findings on the filings."},{"id":"c2","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'admitted to using AI to draft the Strike Opposition, explaining that he believed that'; 'the enterprise-level version of AI software he was using did not hallucinate cases'; 'a PDF version of [a] prior draft of the work product rather than the final, verified document'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"According to the order, the lawyer admitted using AI to draft the first opposition, explaining a belief that the enterprise-level version of the AI software in use did not hallucinate cases, and said a prior draft had been filed by mistake.","causal_attribution":"The lawyer's admission in the response to the order to show cause, as recorded by the court. It connects the AI tool's output to the fictitious citations in that filing."},{"id":"c3","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'a prolonged bout of influenza'; 'has not admitted to using AI in the Travelers and'; 'whether AI was used or not'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The lawyer did not admit using AI for the later oppositions, attributing their errors to influenza; the court held sanctions warranted whether or not AI was used for them.","causal_attribution":"The court's record of the lawyer's explanation and its reasoning. The AI contribution is established only for the first opposition."},{"id":"c4","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'is GRANTED and the Court imposes sanctions pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11.'; 'The Court revokes Attorney'; 'pro hac vice status'; 'These fees and costs shall not exceed $10,000.'; 'impose sanctions upon local counsel'; 'Dated: September 25, 2026'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"On 25 September 2026 the court granted the defence motion for sanctions under Rule 11, revoked the lawyer's pro hac vice admission and ordered the lawyer's firm to pay the defendants' reasonable fees and costs, not exceeding $10,000; local counsel was not sanctioned.","causal_attribution":"The sanctions order itself."},{"id":"c5","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'indicates that this is not an instance of mere carelessness.'; 'pattern of neglecting to confirm the accuracy of his'; 'has since implemented citation-verification procedures'; 'completed Continuing Legal Education (\"CLE\") credits on the ethical use of AI'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The court found that continued submission of false or misleading citations after notice was not mere carelessness and showed a pattern of neglecting to confirm the accuracy of submissions; it credited the lawyer's later citation-verification procedures and continuing legal education on the ethical use of AI.","causal_attribution":"The court's findings and its account of mitigation."}],"effects":[{"label":"lawyer's pro hac vice admission revoked and firm ordered to pay up to $10,000 of the defendants' fees","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mad.288446/gov.uscourts.mad.288446.155.0.pdf","kind":"court_record","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in full in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-16 from CourtListener RECAP storage (HTTP 200, text extracted with pdftotext); no translation was needed.","independence_group":"d-mass-case-1-25-cv-12395-sanctions-order"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["justice","work"],"unknowns":["Which AI product was used and how it was prompted","Whether AI was used for the two later oppositions, which the lawyer did not admit","The final amount of fees and costs, to be agreed or reported to the court by 23 October 2026","Whether the plaintiff suffered any consequence from the sanctions or the change of counsel"],"geography":{"basis":"The filings were made in, and the sanctions imposed by, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Where the lawyer drafted the filings and where the lawyer lives are not used.","court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a documented court sanction. A federal court order records a lawyer's admission that AI drafted a filing with fictitious citations, and the court revoked the lawyer's pro hac vice admission and ordered fees of up to $10,000. The lawyer, the plaintiff and the deceased are not named here.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-16"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The sanctions order records the lawyer's admission that an AI tool was used to draft the 21 November 2025 opposition, which the court found contained a quotation attributed to a case with a fictitious Westlaw citation and other inaccurate citations. The tool's generated draft reached the lawyer, who filed it (communicated_with); the court then sanctioned the lawyer for this and two later filings. The lawyer did not admit AI use for the later filings, and the order does not name the AI product.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Massachusetts federal court revokes an out-of-state lawyer's admission and orders fees after briefs with false citations; the lawyer admitted AI drafted one","summary":"On 25 September 2026 a judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts granted a defence motion for sanctions under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11 against a California-barred lawyer admitted for one case (pro hac vice) to represent the plaintiff. The court found that an opposition the lawyer filed on 21 November 2025 was replete with inaccurate citations, including a quotation attributed to a case with a fictitious Westlaw citation, and that later oppositions cited a non-existent case. In response to the court's order to show cause, the lawyer admitted using AI to draft the first opposition and explained a belief that the enterprise-level AI software in use did not hallucinate cases. The court revoked the lawyer's pro hac vice admission and ordered the lawyer's firm to pay the defendants' reasonable fees and costs, capped at $10,000. The order does not name the AI product.","incidentDate":"2025-11-21","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"day","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-09-25","aiSystem":"An unnamed enterprise-level AI software product that the lawyer admitted using to draft a court filing, according to the sanctions order","aiProduct":"Unidentified AI drafting tool","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["professional_harm","legal_harm","financial_loss"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"According to the court's order, a lawyer who admitted using AI to draft a brief that contained fictitious citations had pro hac vice admission revoked, and the lawyer's firm was ordered to pay up to $10,000 of the defendants' fees and costs.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person: the sanctioned lawyer, who admitted using the AI tool (claims c2 and c4). Local counsel was not sanctioned and is not counted. The plaintiff is not counted because the order describes no consequence of the sanctions for the plaintiff.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"US-MA","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"regulatory_action","outcomeStatus":"resolved","primarySourceUrl":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mad.288446/gov.uscourts.mad.288446.155.0.pdf","primarySourceLabel":"U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, Memorandum and Order on sanctions, Dkt. 155, case 1:25-cv-12395 (25 September 2026)","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-16T03:10:29.878255+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-16T03:10:29.878255+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["united-states","massachusetts","legal-profession","sanction","hallucinated-citations","pro-hac-vice"]},{"id":"2025-sweden-police-say-ai-generated-videos-of-known-doctors-in-health-product-ads-led-to-card-fraud","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Sedan slutet av maj har polisen i region Stockholm fått in flera anmälningar där målsägare blivit lurade i annonsbedrägerier med AI-generade videor föreställande läkare.'; 'De välgjorda filmerna är istället AI-genererade och har skapats av bedragare för att användas i annonser på sociala medier.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Stockholm police said in June 2025 that since the end of May they had received several complaints from people defrauded in advertisement scams using AI-generated videos depicting doctors, and that the videos were AI-generated and made by fraudsters for social media adverts.","causal_attribution":"Stockholm police statement; the police do not say how they established that the videos were AI-generated."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'I klippen ger de råd och förespråkar köp av olika läkemedel eller vitaminer men det är inte de riktiga läkarna'; 'Väl på den bedrägliga hemsidan luras målsägaren att uppge sina kortuppgifter vilket leder till att en betydligt högre summa dras och att även kortuppgifterna stjäls.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"According to the police, the doctors in the clips appear to give advice and recommend medicines or vitamins; viewers who follow the link to a fraudulent site are induced to enter card details, a considerably larger sum is then charged and the card details are stolen.","causal_attribution":"Stockholm police statement describing the complaints."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'I AI-framställda reklamfilmer använder bedragare kända läkare för att komma över svenskars kortuppgifter. Bland profilerna som utnyttjats finns Anders Tegnell och Agnes Wold.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"'Professorn Agnes Wold och den tidigare statsepidemiologen Anders Tegnell utnyttjas av bedragare som försöker lura till sig pengar via AI-skapade reklamfilmer, rapporterar Dagens Nyheter.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"Dagens Nyheter reported in June 2025 that fraudsters were using well-known doctors, among them the former state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell and the professor Agnes Wold, in AI-made advertising films to obtain card details.","causal_attribution":"Dagens Nyheter's report (Omni relays it); the AI description of these two doctors' clips is the newspaper's, read alongside the police statement on doctor videos."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'På Facebook finns falska filmer, där det låter och ser ut som att Anders Tegnell medverkar, med Folkhälsomyndighetens logotyp i bakgrunden.'; 'Folkhälsomyndigheten har polisanmält bedrägerierna, och kontaktat företaget Meta, som äger Facebook, med en rättslig begäran om borttagning av de falska filmerna.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The Public Health Agency of Sweden said on 4 July 2025 that fake Facebook films in which the former state epidemiologist appears to speak, with the agency's logo in the background, advertise products said to help with diabetes or asthma; it reported the frauds to the police and sent Meta a legal request to remove the films.","causal_attribution":"The agency's own notice of its complaint and removal request."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Det känns hemskt tråkigt att mitt och myndighetens namn utnyttjas på det här viset, och att bedragare försöker sko sig på utsatta människor som vill ha hjälp med sina hälsoproblem'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'Att man använder sig av mig för att lura dem ännu mer känns väldigt dåligt, säger Anders Tegnell.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The former state epidemiologist said it was very sad that his and the agency's name were being exploited and that fraudsters were trying to profit from vulnerable people seeking help for health problems.","causal_attribution":"His own statements (agency notice and SVT interview); one witness."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'– Jag blir vansinnig. Det här går tvärtemot allt jag står för, säger Wold.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"'I Agnes Wolds fall ska det handla om preparat mot parasitinfektioner i blodådror.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"The professor told Dagens Nyheter of being furious and that the adverts went against everything the professor stands for; in the professor's case the clips reportedly promoted preparations against parasitic infections of the blood vessels.","causal_attribution":"The professor's statements to Dagens Nyheter, relayed by Expressen; one origin."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Polisen hade vid tillfället fått in ett tiotal anmälningar om klippen både från lurade privatpersoner och läkare som utnyttjats.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"SVT, citing Dagens Nyheter, reported that the police had at that time received about ten complaints about the clips, from both defrauded private individuals and doctors whose likeness was used.","causal_attribution":"Police figure given to Dagens Nyheter and relayed by SVT; approximate."},{"id":"c8","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Flera anmälningar har gjorts men utredningarna har lagts ner eftersom man bedömer att brotten begåtts i andra länder.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"Omni, relaying Dagens Nyheter, reported that several complaints had been made but the investigations had been closed because the offences were judged to have been committed in other countries.","causal_attribution":"Dagens Nyheter's account as relayed by Omni; the DN passage itself was behind the paywall."}],"effects":[{"label":"card details stolen and larger sums charged after viewers followed doctor-video adverts","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"},{"label":"depicted doctors' objection to the use of their likeness, and the agency's complaint to police","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://polisen.se/aktuellt/nyheter/stockholm/2025/juni/aibedragerier/","kind":"official_police_statement","access":"read","language":"sv","translation_note":"Read in Swedish by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-16 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. Stockholm police region news item of 9 June 2025; the live URL returned HTTP 404 on 2026-10-16 and the Internet Archive capture of 19 December 2025 was read in full.","independence_group":"stockholm-police-statement-9-jun-2025"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.folkhalsomyndigheten.se/nyheter-och-press/nyhetsarkiv/2025/juli/varning-for-falska-filmer/","kind":"government_statement","access":"read","language":"sv","translation_note":"Read in Swedish by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-16 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. Public Health Agency of Sweden news notice of 4 July 2025, read in full (HTTP 200).","independence_group":"public-health-agency-notice-4-jul-2025"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/bedragare-anvander-ai-tegnell-i-falsk-reklam","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"sv","translation_note":"Read in Swedish by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-16 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. SVT Nyheter report of 5 July 2025 with its own interview of the former state epidemiologist; its police figures are relayed from Dagens Nyheter. Read in full (HTTP 200).","independence_group":"svt-5-jul-2025"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.dn.se/sverige/bedragare-utnyttjar-kanda-lakare-for-att-lura-svenskar/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"sv","translation_note":"Read in Swedish by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-16 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. Dagens Nyheter report of 19 June 2025; only the headline, standfirst and first quotation were readable before the paywall (HTTP 200).","independence_group":"dn-19-jun-2025"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://omni.se/wold-och-tegnell-anvands-av-bedragare-i-ai-filmer/a/Jb99EP","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"sv","translation_note":"Read in Swedish by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-16 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. Omni summary of 19 June 2025 relaying the Dagens Nyheter report; read in full (HTTP 200). Same origin as the DN report.","independence_group":"dn-19-jun-2025"},{"id":"s6","url":"https://www.expressen.se/nyheter/sverige/falsk-tegnell-i-ai-filmer-folkhalsomyndigheten-varnar/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"sv","translation_note":"Read in Swedish by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-16 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. Expressen report of 4 July 2025 relaying the Public Health Agency notice and the Dagens Nyheter interviews; cited here only for the professor's quotation given to DN, so grouped with DN. Read in full (HTTP 200).","independence_group":"dn-19-jun-2025"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["finance","health","privacy"],"unknowns":["How many people were defrauded and how much each lost; the police statement says several complaints and a relayed figure of about ten includes doctors' own complaints.","How the police established that the videos were AI-generated, and which tool was used.","Whether any defrauded complainant saw a video of the two named doctors specifically.","Whether Meta removed the films."],"geography":{"basis":"The complaints were made to the Stockholm police region, and the depicted doctors are a Swedish agency adviser and a Swedish professor. Dagens Nyheter, as relayed by Omni, says the offences were judged to have been committed in other countries, and no source places the adverts' operation, so event countries are left unknown.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":["SE"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (depicted_or_impersonated): the investigating police state that fraudsters' AI-generated videos of doctors in social media adverts led complainants to fraudulent sites where their card details were taken and larger sums charged, and two depicted doctors and a government agency objected. Counts are partial and the AI attribution's technical basis is undisclosed.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-16"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The Stockholm police, who received the complaints, state that the videos depicting doctors in the social media adverts were AI-generated by fraudsters, and that people who followed the adverts to fraudulent sites gave card details, were charged considerably more and had the details stolen. The Public Health Agency says films imitating the former state epidemiologist's appearance and voice are fake and reported them to police. Neither says how the AI generation was established, and no tool is named.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Sweden: police say AI-generated videos of well-known doctors in social media ads led people to fraudulent sites and card fraud; doctors object","summary":"In June 2025 the Stockholm police region warned that since the end of May it had received several complaints from people defrauded through social media adverts with AI-generated videos depicting doctors, who appeared to give advice and recommend medicines or vitamins. According to the police, viewers who followed the adverts to fraudulent websites were induced to enter card details, after which a considerably larger sum was charged and the details were stolen. Dagens Nyheter reported that the doctors used included the former state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell and the professor Agnes Wold, who told the paper of being furious. In July 2025 the Public Health Agency of Sweden said fake Facebook films imitating its former state epidemiologist were advertising products for diabetes or asthma, that it had reported them to the police and had asked Meta to remove them; he said it was sad that fraudsters were exploiting vulnerable people. Dagens Nyheter, as relayed by Omni, reported that the investigations were closed because the offences were judged to have been committed abroad. The number of defrauded people and their losses are not stated, and the police do not say how the AI generation was established.","incidentDate":"2025-05-01","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"single_interaction","reportedDate":"2025-06-09","aiSystem":"Unidentified tool used by fraudsters to generate videos imitating the appearance and voices of well-known Swedish doctors in social media adverts, described by the Stockholm police as AI-generated; no tool is named","aiProduct":"Unidentified video tool","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["financial_loss","psychological_distress"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The Stockholm police say complainants who followed the adverts entered card details on fraudulent sites, were charged considerably larger sums and had the details stolen; the two depicted doctors objected publicly and the Public Health Agency reported the films to police.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":2,"affectedCountStatus":"partial","affectedCountEvidence":"The two depicted doctors who objected are counted (the professor's statement to Dagens Nyheter; the former state epidemiologist's statements and the agency's complaint). The defrauded complainants are described only as several (police) and, in a relayed figure that also includes doctors, about ten complaints, so they are an unquantified remainder.","victimAgeRange":"unknown","jurisdiction":"SE","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"investigation_opened","outcomeStatus":"resolved","primarySourceUrl":"https://polisen.se/aktuellt/nyheter/stockholm/2025/juni/aibedragerier/","primarySourceLabel":"Swedish Police Authority (Stockholm), 9 June 2025: several complaints about AI frauds on social media","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-16T03:01:44.793594+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-16T03:01:44.793594+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["deepfake_advert","health_product_fraud","card_fraud","doctor_likeness","sweden"]},{"id":"2025-colorado-federal-court-fines-mypillow-defence-lawyers-over-brief-with-fabricated-citations-after-ai-admission","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'Defendants filed their Brief in Opposition to Plaintiff'; 'the Court identified nearly thirty defective citations in the Opposition'; 'and most egregiously, citation of cases that do not exist'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'and most egregiously, citation of cases that do not exist'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The defendants' opposition to the plaintiff's motion in limine, filed on 25 February 2025 and signed by Kachouroff and DeMaster, contained nearly thirty defective citations, including misquotes and citations of cases that do not exist.","causal_attribution":"Established by the court orders, which record the court's own review of the filed brief."},{"id":"c2","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'Was this motion generated by generative'; 'Initially, I did an outline for myself, and I'; 'drafted a motion, and then we ran it through AI'; 'I personally did not check it'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'Final Pretrial/Trial Preparation Conference held on April 21, 2025'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"At the final pretrial conference on 21 April 2025, asked whether the motion was generated by generative artificial intelligence, Kachouroff said he had drafted it and then ran it through AI, and that he personally did not check the citations.","causal_attribution":"Counsel's statement to the court, quoted from the transcript in the 7 July order; it establishes what counsel said, and the AI's role in the defective citations rests on that statement and the co-counsel declaration."},{"id":"c3","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'believed some of these citations were likely from AI drafts'; 'I do not rely on AI to do legal research or find cases'; 'the use of generative artificial intelligence or gross carelessness by counsel'; 'Nor is this Court persuaded by counsel'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Co-counsel's declaration said Kachouroff had told her he believed some of the citations were likely from AI drafts; counsel also said a wrong draft had been filed by mistake and Kachouroff declared he does not rely on AI to do legal research or find cases. The court was not persuaded by the wrong-draft explanation and found no explanation of how the citations appeared absent generative AI or gross carelessness.","causal_attribution":"The declarations' content and the court's findings are documented by the order; the order does not itself find which tool produced the citations."},{"id":"c4","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'The Court hereby SANCTIONS Christopher I. Kachouroff and the law firm'; 'The Court hereby SANCTIONS Jennifer T. DeMaster in the amount of'; 'this Court does not extend the sanctions to Defendants'; 'no later than August 4, 2025'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'A federal judge ordered two attorneys representing MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell in a Colorado defamation case to pay $3,000 each'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"On 7 July 2025 the court held that Kachouroff and DeMaster violated Rule 11 and sanctioned Kachouroff and his law firm jointly $3,000 and DeMaster $3,000, payable by 4 August 2025, and did not extend the sanctions to Lindell or his companies.","causal_attribution":"Established by the operative part of the 7 July order; NPR relays it."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Kachouroff and DeMaster didn'; 'request for comment'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"NPR reported that Kachouroff and DeMaster did not respond to its request for comment.","causal_attribution":"NPR's own report of its request."}],"effects":[{"label":"two defence lawyers were fined $3,000 each for a brief with fabricated citations that lead counsel said had been run through AI","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-cod-1_22-cv-01129/pdf/USCOURTS-cod-1_22-cv-01129-10.pdf","kind":"court_record","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in full in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-14 (HTTP 200). Order of 7 July 2025 (Doc. 383, 20 pages) read in full; the hearing transcript, the declarations and the draft exhibits it cites were not read separately.","independence_group":"coomer-v-lindell-d-colo-sanctions-orders"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-cod-1_22-cv-01129/pdf/USCOURTS-cod-1_22-cv-01129-8.pdf","kind":"court_record","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in full in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-14 (HTTP 200). Order to show cause of 23 April 2025 (Doc. 309) read in full.","independence_group":"coomer-v-lindell-d-colo-sanctions-orders"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.npr.org/2025/07/10/nx-s1-5463512/ai-courts-lawyers-mypillow-fines","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in full in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-14 (HTTP 200). NPR reports the 7 July order and quotes it; it adds that the lawyers did not respond to a request for comment.","independence_group":"coomer-v-lindell-d-colo-sanctions-orders"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use","others_use"],"contexts":["justice","work"],"unknowns":["Which AI tool was used on the brief and which citations it introduced.","Whether either lawyer has faced bar disciplinary proceedings over the brief; the final order imposes fines only."],"geography":{"basis":"The brief was filed in, and the sanctions imposed by, the US District Court for the District of Colorado (both orders). Where the lawyers drafted the brief is not stated, so no event or affected-person country is recorded from the court seat.","court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published because the court's 7 July 2025 order documents that two defence lawyers were fined $3,000 each for a brief with nearly thirty defective citations, including non-existent cases, and quotes lead counsel's statement in court that the draft was run through AI and not checked.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-14"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The court's 7 July 2025 order quotes lead counsel's answer at the 21 April 2025 conference that after drafting the motion 'we ran it through AI' and that he did not check the citations, and quotes co-counsel's declaration that he believed some of the citations were likely from AI drafts. The filed brief contained citations of cases that do not exist, and the court found counsel gave no explanation of how those citations appeared absent the use of generative artificial intelligence or gross carelessness; it fined both lawyers for the brief. The AI output is thus connected to the sanctioned filing by counsel's own statements in the court record. Counsel later declared that he does not rely on AI to do legal research or find cases, and the court did not identify the tool.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Colorado federal court fines two MyPillow defence lawyers $3,000 each over a brief with fabricated citations; lead counsel had admitted running it through AI","summary":"In the defamation case Coomer v. Lindell in the US District Court for the District of Colorado, a brief that lawyers for Mike Lindell and MyPillow filed on 25 February 2025 contained nearly thirty defective citations, including citations of cases that do not exist. At a conference on 21 April 2025 lead counsel Christopher Kachouroff told Judge Nina Y. Wang that he had drafted the motion and then 'ran it through AI' and had not personally checked the citations. Counsel later said a wrong draft had been filed by mistake; the court was not persuaded. On 7 July 2025 the court found that he and co-counsel Jennifer DeMaster had violated Rule 11 and fined each $3,000 (Kachouroff jointly with his law firm). The court did not sanction Lindell or his companies.","incidentDate":"2025-02-25","incidentEndDate":"2025-07-07","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"day","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2025-04-23","aiSystem":"A generative AI tool that lead counsel said the draft brief was run through; the court record does not identify which tool was used for this brief","aiProduct":"Unidentified AI drafting tool","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["professional_harm","financial_loss","legal_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"According to the court's 7 July 2025 order, two defence lawyers were found to have violated Rule 11 and were each fined $3,000 after filing a brief with nearly thirty defective citations, including non-existent cases, which lead counsel had said was run through AI.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"Two people sanctioned in the 7 July 2025 order: lead counsel, who told the court the draft was run through AI (counted as the AI user), and co-counsel who signed the brief, whose own use of AI is not established (counted as another person harmed). The law firm is an organisation and is not counted; the defendants were not sanctioned.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"US","platformType":"assistant","outcomeType":"regulatory_action","outcomeStatus":"resolved","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-cod-1_22-cv-01129/pdf/USCOURTS-cod-1_22-cv-01129-10.pdf","primarySourceLabel":"US District Court for the District of Colorado, Coomer v. Lindell, order on the order to show cause (Doc. 383), 7 July 2025","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-14T03:03:29.9489+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-14T03:03:29.9489+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["colorado","federal-court","defamation-case","lawyers","fabricated-citations","rule-11-sanction","generative-ai"]},{"id":"2025-pont-a-mousson-ai-generated-macron-arnault-investment-ad-pensioner-savings-loss","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'initiés à partir de publications sur les réseaux sociaux utilisant des avatars de personnalités publiques générés par IA, comme Macron ou Arnault'; 'Des avatars de ces personnalités, générés par intelligence artificielle (IA), fleurissent sur les réseaux sociaux, et proposent des placements financiers juteux mais faux'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'L’affaire remonte à l’été 2025. Une publicité sur Internet promet des placements avantageux, mettant en scène le président de la République Emmanuel Macron et le milliardaire Bernard Arnault'; 'la publicité était en réalité un « deepfake », c’est-à-dire une fausse vidéo générée à l’aide de l’intelligence artificielle utilisant l’avatar de personnes existantes'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'la femme s’est fait duper par une publicité réalisée à l’aide de l’intelligence artificielle dans laquelle Emmanuel Macron et Bernard Arnault conseillent de réaliser des placements avantageux'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"A retired woman in her eighties living in Pont-à-Mousson saw an online advertisement in which likenesses of Emmanuel Macron and Bernard Arnault, described as AI-generated avatars by the regional press reporting the Pont-à-Mousson police station's warning, promoted a lucrative investment platform; Le Parisien places this in summer 2025.","causal_attribution":"Account of the Pont-à-Mousson police station as relayed by L'Est Républicain and, via ICI and L'Est Républicain, by Le Parisien and Capital; one reporting chain. The AI description is the outlets' own wording in reporting that warning; no quoted police statement mentions AI."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Après avoir donné son nom et son numéro, un faux conseiller bancaire la contacte. Il lui explique alors ce qu’elle peut gagner. L’escroc demande qu’elle installe un logiciel sur son ordinateur.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'L’homme, très convaincant, lui propose de placer 5 000 euros pour commencer. Plusieurs semaines après, la promesse est tenue et l’octogénaire reçoit plusieurs centaines d’euros « d’intérêts »'; 'La retraitée accepte et verse à nouveau 5 000 euros'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"She gave her name and telephone number through the advertisement's form, was contacted by a fake financial adviser, was asked to install software on her computer, invested 5,000 euros, received several hundred euros presented as interest, and reinvested repeatedly.","causal_attribution":"Police-station account via the same reporting chain."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'une habitante de Pont-à-Mousson s’est fait escroquer 10 000 € après des placements frauduleux'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'10 000 euros. C’est la somme qu’a perdue une retraitée, résidant à Pont-à-Mousson en Meurthe-et-Moselle, après avoir subi une escroquerie pendant l’été 2025'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'Les escrocs lui ont ainsi dérobé 10 000 euros, en deux retraits successifs de 5 000 euros chacun'","relation":"context","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"She lost at least 10,000 euros: L'Est Républicain and Capital report 10,000 euros, and Marie France (citing CNews) reports 10,000 euros taken in two withdrawals of 5,000 euros.","causal_attribution":"Police-station account via one reporting chain; the amount is not independently established."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Une retraitée a été arnaquée de 25 000 euros, à Pont-à-Mousson (Meurthe-et-Moselle)'; 'Entre juin et juillet 2025, l’octogénaire réitère l’opération plusieurs fois et finit par placer toutes ses économies, soit 25 000 euros'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'s’est fait escroquer 10 000 € après des placements frauduleux'","relation":"contradicts","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'elle décide alors d’investir toutes ses économies'","relation":"context","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"Le Parisien, citing ICI and L'Est Républicain, reports a total loss of 25,000 euros, all her savings, placed in several instalments between June and July 2025.","causal_attribution":"Le Parisien's figure differs from the 10,000 euros of L'Est Républicain, Capital and Marie France; which figure the police gave, or whether the larger one includes later instalments, is not established."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'l’annonce publicitaire, ainsi que le site frauduleux, ont disparu'; 'Une enquête a été ouverte pour tenter d’identifier le ou les auteurs de cette arnaque'; '« Pour ce genre d’arnaque, nous enregistrons entre trois et cinq plaintes par semaine »'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'Le commissariat de Pont-à-Mousson alerte : les escroqueries aux faux conseillers bancaires se multiplient'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The advertisement and the fraudulent site then disappeared; an investigation was opened, and the Pont-à-Mousson police station publicly warned that it records three to five complaints a week for this kind of fraud.","causal_attribution":"Statements of the Pont-à-Mousson police station to the regional press."}],"effects":[{"label":"lost her savings to a fraudulent investment platform promoted by an advertisement using AI-generated likenesses of Macron and Arnault","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.estrepublicain.fr/faits-divers-justice/2026/06/07/escroquee-par-un-faux-macron-genere-par-ia-elle-perd-10-000-dans-des-placements-frauduleux","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"fr","translation_note":"Read in French and translated by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-07 (HTTP 200); no human translator or reviewer read the article. L'Est Républicain (Groupe EBRA) regional report of 7 June 2026 based on the Pont-à-Mousson police station's warning.","independence_group":"est-republicain-ici-pont-a-mousson-police"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.leparisien.fr/faits-divers/une-retraitee-perd-25-000-euros-apres-avoir-ete-piegee-par-une-fausse-publicite-demmanuel-macron-generee-par-ia-15-06-2026-EXVJWQKNJ5DTTKETUIJO4AABPQ.php","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"fr","translation_note":"Read in French and translated by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-07 (HTTP 200); no human translator or reviewer read the article. Le Parisien, 15 June 2026, explicitly based on ICI (France Bleu) and L'Est Républicain; same reporting chain as s1.","independence_group":"est-republicain-ici-pont-a-mousson-police"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.capital.fr/economie-politique/une-retraitee-perd-10-000-euros-a-cause-d-une-fausse-publicite-generee-par-ia-comment-eviter-ce-piege-1527640","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"fr","translation_note":"Read in French and translated by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-07 (HTTP 200); no human translator or reviewer read the article. Capital, 15 June 2026, explicitly based on L'Est Républicain and ICI; same reporting chain as s1.","independence_group":"est-republicain-ici-pont-a-mousson-police"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.mariefrance.fr/news-people/apres-brad-pitt-faux-emmanuel-macron-vole-milliers-euros-internaute-tombee-panneau-1277321.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"fr","translation_note":"Read in French and translated by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-07 (HTTP 200); no human translator or reviewer read the article. Marie France, 10 June 2026, relaying a CNews article; the CNews item was not located. Same police-station account; kept as context for the relay and its differing description of the withdrawals.","independence_group":"est-republicain-ici-pont-a-mousson-police"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["finance","everyday_life"],"unknowns":["Which AI tool produced the advertisement, whether it was a video or still images, and where it was served (the outlets say 'social networks' and 'Internet').","The total loss: 10,000 euros (L'Est Républicain, Capital, Marie France) or 25,000 euros (Le Parisien); whether the woman recovered any money.","Exact dates: Le Parisien places the payments between June and July 2025, while L'Est Républicain of 7 June 2026 says she was defrauded 'this week', which may refer to the complaint; recorded as June 2025 at month precision.","Whether anyone has been identified or charged; the state of the investigation after June 2026.","The CNews article relayed by Marie France was not located; the ICI (France Bleu) report cited by Le Parisien and Capital was not read."],"geography":{"basis":"The woman lives in Pont-à-Mousson (Meurthe-et-Moselle) and the complaint was handled by the Pont-à-Mousson police station, which described the case; the advertisement was seen online from there. No court proceeding is reported.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["FR"],"affected_person_countries":["FR"]},"publication":{"basis":"Single reporting chain (Pont-à-Mousson police station via L'Est Républicain, ICI, Le Parisien, Capital, CNews/Marie France) describing a concrete loss by one identifiable but unnamed pensioner after an advertisement that the regional press, reporting the police station's warning, describe as AI-generated likenesses of two public figures; the AI impersonation is the reported entry point to the fraud. Published as a reported account with the amount discrepancy preserved.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-07"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"L'Est Républicain, reporting the Pont-à-Mousson police station's warning, says the fraud was initiated from social-media publications using avatars of public figures generated by artificial intelligence, such as Macron or Arnault; Le Parisien, citing ICI and L'Est Républicain, describes the advertisement as a deepfake, a fake video generated with AI using the avatars of real people, showing Macron and Arnault praising an investment platform. The generated likenesses impersonated those two men toward the woman (depicted_or_impersonated) and are what led her to fill in the form through which the fraudsters obtained her contact details and money. No outlet examined the advertisement, no tool is named, and no forensic finding is reported.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Pont-à-Mousson pensioner lost her savings to a fraudulent investment platform promoted by an ad reported as AI-generated likenesses of Macron and Arnault","summary":"A retired woman in her eighties living in Pont-à-Mousson (Meurthe-et-Moselle, France) responded, in summer 2025 according to Le Parisien and Capital, to an online advertisement in which AI-generated likenesses of Emmanuel Macron and Bernard Arnault promoted a lucrative investment platform. A supposed financial adviser then called her, she invested 5,000 euros, received several hundred euros of 'interest', and reinvested repeatedly until the advertisement and the site disappeared. L'Est Républicain (7 June 2026) and Capital put the loss at 10,000 euros; Le Parisien, citing ICI and L'Est Républicain, reports 25,000 euros, all her savings. The Pont-à-Mousson police station says an investigation was opened and that it receives three to five complaints a week for this kind of fraud. The account rests on the police station's warning as reported by the regional press, which describes the advertisement as AI-generated; the advertisement itself was not examined by the outlets and the quoted police statements do not mention AI.","incidentDate":"2025-06-01","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2026-06-07","aiSystem":"An online advertisement in which likenesses of Emmanuel Macron and Bernard Arnault, described by the regional press, reporting the Pont-à-Mousson police station's warning, as avatars generated with artificial intelligence (a 'deepfake' video, per Le Parisien), promoted a fraudulent investment platform; tool not identified","aiProduct":"Unidentified image and video tool","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["financial_loss"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"A pensioner in Pont-à-Mousson lost at least 10,000 euros (25,000 euros, all her savings, per Le Parisien) to a fraudulent investment platform promoted by an advertisement that the regional press, reporting the police, describe as AI-generated likenesses of Emmanuel Macron and Bernard Arnault.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person, the pensioner described by the Pont-à-Mousson police station (L'Est Républicain, Le Parisien, Capital). The second complainant in L'Est Républicain lost money to a different fake-adviser fraud without any AI element and is not counted. The 'three to five complaints a week' figure is a general police statement about the fraud type and is not counted. Exact 1.","victimAgeRange":"elderly","jurisdiction":"FR","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"investigation_opened","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.estrepublicain.fr/faits-divers-justice/2026/06/07/escroquee-par-un-faux-macron-genere-par-ia-elle-perd-10-000-dans-des-placements-frauduleux","primarySourceLabel":"L'Est Républicain, 7 June 2026: Escroquée par un faux Emmanuel Macron généré par IA, elle perd 10 000 € dans des placements frauduleux","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-07T03:30:06.294009+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-11T07:44:15.692384+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["deepfake","fake-celebrity-advertisement","investment-fraud","fraud","elderly","france","pont-a-mousson","depicted-or-impersonated"]},{"id":"2025-gwinnett-couple-crypto-scam-ai-generated-ghost-site-800k","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'A retired Georgia couple is warning others after losing their entire life savings—nearly $800,000—in an elaborate cryptocurrency scam that began with a message on WhatsApp.'; 'attempted to withdraw more money—and couldn’t. He called 911.'; 'They are working with Gwinnett County police'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'said they lost $802,000 in a cryptocurrency scam this year.'; 'inside his northeast Gwinnett County home last week.'; 'He had just tried to withdraw money from his cryptocurrency account, but couldn’t.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"A couple in Gwinnett County, Georgia, lost about $800,000 (the AJC says $802,000) in a cryptocurrency scam; the husband found out when he tried to withdraw money and could not.","causal_attribution":"The couple's own account, given in separate interviews to FOX 5 and the AJC; both outlets say police are investigating, and no inspected passage from police or another origin states the amount or the failed withdrawal."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Gwinnett County police explained that while the app he was using was real, the scammers had created an AI-generated \"ghost site\" that manipulated what he saw on the screen.'; 'He was able to identify that what I was seeing on CryptoWallet wasn’t there,'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"According to FOX 5, Gwinnett County police explained that while the trading app was real, the scammers had created an AI-generated \"ghost site\" that manipulated what the husband saw on his screen; the husband recalled the officer identifying that what he was seeing on the wallet was not there.","causal_attribution":"Police explanation as relayed by FOX 5, plus the husband's recollection of it to FOX 5; a Cobb County government page repeats FOX 5's summary and the AJC's legible text does not mention AI; the tool and method are not described."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The 74-year-old’s head was spinning. He felt sick.'; 'It’s teary, embarrassing. I feel ashamed.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'say the ordeal left them angry, embarrassed, and financially devastated.'; 'The couple's children have launched a GoFundMe to help them meet day-to-day expenses.'; 'investigators say in many cases like this, the victims rarely recover their funds.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The husband, 74, described feeling sick and ashamed; the couple said they were financially devastated and their children started a fundraiser for day-to-day expenses; police said victims rarely recover such funds.","causal_attribution":"The couple's accounts to two outlets."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'A retired Georgia couple is warning others after losing their entire life savings—nearly $800,000—in an elaborate cryptocurrency scam that began with a message on WhatsApp.'; 'encouraging him to invest in cryptocurrency using a mobile trading app.'; 'seeing modest returns, and even able to withdraw funds—building his trust.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"According to FOX 5, the couple are retired, the money was their entire life savings, and the scam began when a stranger contacted the husband on WhatsApp and encouraged him to invest through a mobile trading app, where he traded small amounts and could withdraw funds before investing more.","causal_attribution":"The couple's account to FOX 5 only."}],"effects":[{"label":"a couple lost about $800,000 in a cryptocurrency scam","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"},{"label":"the husband describes feeling sick and ashamed; the couple's children started a fundraiser to help them meet day-to-day expenses","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/georgia-couple-loses-800k-sophisticated-cryptocurrency-scam","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Full body read by curl on 2026-09-29 and re-read on 2026-10-09 (HTTP 200) (published 12 June 2025). FOX 5 interviewed the couple and relays an explanation from Gwinnett County police.","independence_group":"fox5"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.ajc.com/news/2025/06/gwinnett-couple-warn-others-after-losing-800k-in-cryptocurrency-scam/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read by curl on 2026-09-29 and re-read on 2026-10-09 (HTTP 200; the Internet Archive capture is scrambled the same way) (published 12 June 2025). Only the headline, caption and first paragraphs are legible; the rest of the body is served scrambled (reversed, reordered words) and could not be read. The AJC interviewed the husband separately. r.jina.ai 403.","independence_group":"ajc"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["finance"],"unknowns":["How AI was used to generate the fake site, which tool was used and which parts of what the husband saw were generated.","Where the scammers were based.","Whether any funds were recovered or anyone charged.","When the scheme began.","Whether the AJC's scrambled body, or the WSB-TV and 11Alive reports that could not be fetched, describe the AI element independently."],"geography":{"basis":"Both outlets locate the couple in Gwinnett County, Georgia (the AJC: their northeast Gwinnett County home); where the scammers operated is unknown.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a concrete fraud case in which police are reported to have identified an AI-generated fake site that showed the husband false account information while he invested; the loss is the couple's own account given to two outlets, the AI element is a police explanation relayed by one of them, and the record states those limits. Reviewed on 2026-10-09 to record the AI output's relation to the harmed couple (the generated site communicated false balances to the husband).","reviewed_on":"2026-10-09"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"What the AI generated: FOX 5 relays Gwinnett County police explaining that, while the trading app was real, the scammers had created an AI-generated \"ghost site\" that manipulated what the husband saw on the screen, and the husband recalled the officer identifying that what he was seeing on the wallet was not there (c2). Connection to the harm: police gave the ghost site as the explanation of how the scam worked, a manipulated view of his investments on the screen while he traded and invested larger amounts until he could not withdraw (c2, c4), and the couple say roughly $800,000 is gone (c1); which parts of the display were generated is not described. Relation: the generated site presented false account information to the husband, so the AI output was communicated to him (communicated_with); it impersonated no person. Limits: the attribution to AI is a police explanation relayed by one outlet; the tool, the method of generation and which parts of the display were generated are not described, and the AJC body, whose legible part does not mention AI, could not be read in full.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Georgia: a retired couple lost about $800,000 in a crypto scam that police said used an AI-generated \"ghost site\" to fake what the husband saw on screen (2025)","summary":"A retired couple in Gwinnett County, Georgia, told FOX 5 Atlanta and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in June 2025 that they had lost about $800,000 ($802,000 per the AJC), their life savings, in a cryptocurrency scam that began when a stranger contacted the husband on WhatsApp and encouraged him to trade through a mobile app. He traded and withdrew small amounts before investing more, and discovered the fraud when he could not withdraw and called 911. According to FOX 5, Gwinnett County police explained that the app was real but the scammers had created an AI-generated \"ghost site\" that manipulated what he saw on the screen; the husband said police identified that what he was seeing on the wallet was not there. The 74-year-old said he felt sick and ashamed; the couple's children started a fundraiser for day-to-day expenses, and police said such funds are rarely recovered. The tool is not described; the AI element appears in no independently reported source (a Cobb County government page of January 2026 repeats FOX 5's summary, and the AJC's legible text does not mention AI).","incidentDate":"2025-01-01","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"year","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2025-06-12","aiSystem":"Unidentified AI tool used by scammers to generate a fake (\"ghost\") site showing false account balances on a real trading app, per Gwinnett County police as relayed by FOX 5 Atlanta","aiProduct":"Unidentified website tool","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["financial_loss","psychological_distress"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"A retired couple lost about $800,000, their life savings, to a crypto investment scam (their accounts to FOX 5 and the AJC); police told FOX 5 the scammers used an AI-generated fake site to show false balances. The husband describes shame and distress.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":2,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"The husband and wife, who lost their joint savings (2 other people: they were deceived by the scammers' AI-made site rather than using an AI system themselves).","victimAgeRange":"elderly","jurisdiction":"US-GA","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"investigation_opened","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/georgia-couple-loses-800k-sophisticated-cryptocurrency-scam","primarySourceLabel":"FOX 5 Atlanta, 12 June 2025: Georgia couple loses $800K in sophisticated cryptocurrency scam","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-29T09:10:55.774776+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-09T03:23:27.53992+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["investment-scam","cryptocurrency","whatsapp","ai-generated-site","elderly","georgia","gwinnett"]},{"id":"2025-aberdeen-mississippi-fee-suit-ai-hallucinated-citations-four-attorneys-sanctioned","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"p. 2: 'the Court was unable to locate certain legal authorities cited within them. Specifically, the Court determined that the following filings contained hallucinatory citations'; p. 3: 'the attorneys admitted that the hallucinatory citations cited by them, and identified by the Court, resulted from unverified AI use.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'In *Withers v. City of Aberdeen*, attorneys for both sides cited no fewer than six entirely fabricated precedents.'","relation":"context","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"In late 2025, legal memoranda filed for both sides in a fee suit against the City of Aberdeen (N.D. Miss.) cited cases that do not exist; the court identified one such citation in the City's summary-judgment memorandum, three in its fee-challenge memorandum and two in the plaintiff's opposition, and the attorneys admitted the citations resulted from unverified AI use.","causal_attribution":"Established by the court's sanctions order on the attorneys' own admissions."},{"id":"c2","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"p. 3: 'Williams admitted to using an AI tool to conduct legal research, and Wilson admitted to using generative AI to draft her respective filing. Neither of them verified the legal authority output by AI before filing their briefs.'; p. 9: 'She explained that she used “First Drafts,” an AI- powered program for drafting legal documents.'; p. 14: 'it had acquired software that was built for in-house legal research.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The plaintiff's out-of-state counsel, Kathleen M. Wilson, drafted the opposition using 'First Drafts', an AI-powered drafting program, and the City's out-of-state counsel, Kathryn Y. Williams, used an in-house AI legal research tool; neither verified the AI output before filing.","causal_attribution":"Admissions recorded and findings made in the sanctions order."},{"id":"c3","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"p. 21: 'Kathleen M. Wilson’s pro hac vice admission in this case is REVOKED.'; 'Wilson is hereby ORDERED to pay a $2,500 fine to the registry of this Court'; 'Williams is hereby ORDERED to pay a $3,500 fine to the registry of this Court'; 'Shauncey Hunter Ridgeway is DISQUALIFIED from further participation in this case.'; p. 22: 'Mark McClinton is DISQUALIFIED from further participation in this case.'; 'send a copy of this Sanctions Order to the Mississippi Bar, the Louisiana Bar, and the Texas Bar.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"p. 20: 'Wilson and Williams are hereby BARRED from entering an appearance in any case before the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi for the period of two (2) years'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"On 8 June 2026 the court revoked Wilson's and Williams' pro hac vice admissions, barred both from appearing in the Northern District of Mississippi for two years, fined Wilson $2,500 and Williams $3,500, ordered Wilson to complete an AI ethics CLE, disqualified the two local counsel (Shauncey Hunter Ridgeway and Mark C. McClinton, who signed without checking the citations) with $1,000 fines each, and sent the order to the Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas bars.","causal_attribution":"The sanctions are the court's response to the AI-generated false citations and the failure to verify them."},{"id":"c4","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'Given the pending sanctions issue, this case is hereby STAYED until further order of the Court. The final pretrial conference scheduled on February 19, 2026 and trial scheduled on March 23, 2026 are hereby cancelled'; 'The following pending motions are hereby TERMINATED'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"p. 20: 'The Court is cognizant that upon disqualifying the resident attorneys the litigants are effectively left without representation in this case, and that this can cause hardship for them.'; p. 22: 'the Court will dismiss this case without further notice.'; p. 12: 'The Court was unable to resolve that dispositive motion given the tainted filings, and it effectively inhibited the case from proceeding further.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Because of the sanctions issue the court stayed the case, cancelled the pretrial conference and the 23 March 2026 trial, and terminated the pending summary-judgment and fee motions; after disqualifying all four attorneys it gave both litigants 60 days to find new counsel, acknowledging this could cause them hardship, and warned the plaintiff that the case would be dismissed if no counsel appeared or he did not elect to proceed pro se by 7 August 2026.","causal_attribution":"The stay and loss of counsel follow directly from the sanctions proceeding over the AI-generated citations, per the court's orders."},{"id":"c5","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'directing attorney Kathleen M. Wilson to show cause as to why this Court should not hold her in contempt for her failure to pay the fine'; 'Wilson shall have until September 16, 2026 to (1) pay the monetary fine'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"On 17 August 2026, after a show-cause order over Wilson's failure to pay the fine, the court extended her deadline to pay it and to complete the CLE to 16 September 2026.","causal_attribution":"Follow-on enforcement of the sanctions order."}],"effects":[{"label":"two attorneys who used AI tools without verifying the output lost their pro hac vice admissions, were barred from the district for two years and fined","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"},{"label":"two local counsel were disqualified and fined for signing the AI-drafted filings without checking the citations","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"},{"label":"the case was stayed, the trial cancelled and both litigants left without counsel, with the plaintiff's case facing dismissal if no new counsel appeared","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.msnd.50181/gov.uscourts.msnd.50181.123.0_1.pdf","kind":"court_order","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Sanctions Order, ECF 123, filed 8 June 2026 (Senior Judge Sharion Aycock), 23 pages; full text read via pdftotext on 2026-09-29 (RECAP copy on CourtListener).","independence_group":"msnd-court-record"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.msnd.50181/gov.uscourts.msnd.50181.120.0.pdf","kind":"court_order","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Order staying the case, ECF 120, filed 4 February 2026; one page, read in full on 2026-09-29.","independence_group":"msnd-court-record"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.msnd.50181/gov.uscourts.msnd.50181.133.0.pdf","kind":"court_order","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Order of 17 August 2026, ECF 133, extending one attorney's deadline to pay the fine and complete the CLE; one page, read in full on 2026-09-29.","independence_group":"msnd-court-record"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/technology-science/artc-courtroom-hallucinations-lawyers-cite-precedents-dreamt-up-by-ai-as-clients-sabotage-their-own-cases","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"i24NEWS aggregate piece (Sep 2026) read on 2026-09-29 from the Internet Archive capture of 10 Sep 2026 (the live page is a JavaScript shell). It mentions the case in two sentences; its count of 'no fewer than six' fabricated precedents matches the order's list and is not an independent check.","independence_group":"i24news"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use","others_use"],"contexts":["work","justice"],"unknowns":["Which underlying model the 'First Drafts' program and Williams' research tool used; the order names neither vendor's model.","Whether the Mississippi, Louisiana or Texas bars opened disciplinary proceedings, and whether Wilson paid by 16 September 2026.","Whether the litigants retained new counsel by 7 August 2026 and what became of the case.","The dates of the other tainted filings Wilson drafted in this case (ECF 123 p.11); they may predate 5 November 2025."],"geography":{"basis":"Federal case in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi (Aberdeen Division); the order describes the attorneys as licensed in Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi.","court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published from the court's own sanctions order and related docket orders, which record the attorneys' admissions of unverified AI use and the resulting sanctions, stay and loss of counsel. Attorneys are named as they are in the public order; the plaintiff, a private litigant, is not named.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-29"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The sanctions order records the two drafting attorneys' admissions that their filings were produced with AI tools (Wilson: 'First Drafts', a generative drafting program; Williams: an unnamed in-house AI legal research product) and finds that their unverified reliance on the output produced the fabricated citations.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Fee suit against the City of Aberdeen (N.D. Miss.): four attorneys on both sides sanctioned after AI tools produced fabricated case citations; trial cancelled and both litigants left without counsel","summary":"In a fee dispute between a Louisiana attorney and the City of Aberdeen, Mississippi, briefs filed for both sides in late 2025 cited six cases that do not exist. The attorneys admitted the citations came from unverified AI use: the plaintiff's out-of-state counsel, Kathleen M. Wilson, drafted her filing with an AI drafting program called 'First Drafts', and the City's out-of-state counsel, Kathryn Y. Williams, used an in-house AI legal research tool. Senior Judge Sharion Aycock stayed the case and cancelled the March 2026 trial, then on 8 June 2026 revoked both attorneys' pro hac vice admissions, barred them from the district for two years and fined them $2,500 and $3,500, and disqualified and fined the two local counsel who had signed the filings. Both litigants were left without counsel and given 60 days to find new representation.","incidentDate":"2025-11-05","incidentEndDate":"2026-06-08","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"range","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2026-06-08","aiSystem":"'First Drafts', an AI-powered legal drafting program (plaintiff's counsel), and an unnamed in-house AI legal research software product (City's counsel); underlying models not stated","aiProduct":"First Drafts and unidentified legal research tool","aiCompany":"Unknown","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"verified","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["professional_harm","legal_harm","financial_loss"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Per the court's orders, two attorneys who filed AI-generated fabricated citations lost their pro hac vice admissions, were barred from the district for two years and fined $2,500 and $3,500; two local counsel who signed the filings were disqualified and fined $1,000 each; the case was stayed with its trial cancelled, and the plaintiff was left without counsel under threat of dismissal.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"established","participantUsersAffectedMin":2,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":3,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"Sanctions Order (ECF 123). Participant users: Wilson and Williams, the two attorneys who used the AI tools and were sanctioned (2). Others harmed through their use: the two local counsel disqualified and fined (Ridgeway, McClinton) and the plaintiff, an individual whose case was stayed, whose trial was cancelled and who was left without counsel (3). The City of Aberdeen is an organisation and is not counted; no other person's harm is stated.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"US-MS","platformType":"assistant","outcomeType":"regulatory_action","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.msnd.50181/gov.uscourts.msnd.50181.123.0_1.pdf","primarySourceLabel":"Withers v. City of Aberdeen, No. 1:24-cv-218-SA-RP (N.D. Miss.), Sanctions Order, ECF 123, 8 June 2026","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-29T09:10:31.680119+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:16:55.045067+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["work","justice","legal-profession","sanction","fabricated-citations","pro-hac-vice","own-use","mississippi"]},{"id":"2026-shanghai-ai-generated-persona-online-romance-fraud-170k-yuan","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"«对方自称1992年出生，是知名三甲医院医生，手握医院物业工程项目资源» (she claimed to be born in 1992, a doctor at a well-known tertiary hospital, holding hospital property-engineering project resources); «陆续向对方转账共计17万元» (transferred a total of 170,000 yuan in instalments); «就连想要打一通视频电话，对方也会以母亲在一旁看管作为理由拒绝» (even a video call was refused on the ground that her mother was watching); «反复回想交往细节，…越想越不对劲，才到派出所报案» (thinking back over the details he felt something was wrong and went to the police station).","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"«在短短5个月时间里，…陆续向对方转账共计17万元» (in just five months he transferred 170,000 yuan in total); «去年开始与其频繁聊天» (frequent chatting began last year, i.e. 2025).","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Over five months the man transferred a total of 170,000 yuan to a woman he had met on a social platform in 2021 who claimed to be a 1992-born doctor at a well-known top-tier hospital with property-engineering projects to award; she refused meetings and video calls citing her mother; he reported to the police when the promised projects never materialised.","causal_attribution":"police account via the programme 案件聚焦, relayed by Jiupai News and Guangming Net; single official chain."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"«实际出生于1961年，现年65岁，她并无医生资质，仅曾在医院从事后勤保洁工作» (actually born in 1961, now 65, no medical qualification, had only done hospital logistics cleaning); «注意到部分视频角落有一行小字提示：本作品含AI生成内容» (noticed a small corner label on some videos: this work contains AI-generated content); «累计近七千条日常视频、上万粉丝，全都是AI磨皮、场景合成制作而成» (nearly 7,000 videos and 10,000-plus followers, all made with AI skin-smoothing and scene compositing); «一人分饰两角，利用多个账号，分别扮演自己和早已离世的母亲» (played two roles through multiple accounts, herself and her long-dead mother).","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"«…社交账号发布的累计近7000条日常视频、上万粉丝，全都是AI磨皮、场景合成制作而成» (the account's nearly 7,000 videos were all AI-processed).","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Police found the woman was born in 1961, aged 65, had no medical qualification and had worked as a hospital cleaner; her close to 7,000 videos were made with AI skin-smoothing and scene compositing, some carrying a small 'contains AI-generated content' label the victim had never noticed; she used multiple accounts to play herself and her deceased mother.","causal_attribution":"Police findings as presented in the programme; no independent chain."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"«全部被她用于医美护肤、购置衣物等个人挥霍。2009年，她还曾因诈骗罪被判处有期徒刑四年六个月» (all spent on cosmetic treatments and clothing; in 2009 she was sentenced to four years six months for fraud); «因涉嫌诈骗罪，已被公安机关依法采取刑事强制措施» (criminal coercive measures taken for suspected fraud).","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"«…曾于2009年因诈骗罪被判监4年半。目前，…因涉嫌诈骗罪已被公安机关采取刑事强制措施» (2009 fraud sentence of four and a half years; now under criminal coercive measures).","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The 170,000 yuan was spent on cosmetic skin treatments and clothing; the woman had been sentenced to four years and six months for fraud in 2009; she is under criminal coercive measures for suspected fraud.","causal_attribution":"Police statement relayed by press."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"«同时与十余人保持暧昧关系» (simultaneously kept ambiguous relationships with more than ten people). (police-attributed sentence in the Epoch Times)","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"headline: '65岁阿姨AI换脸装“90后”美女，谈10多个暧昧对象' (the s1 body text does not repeat it)","relation":"context","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Police said the woman simultaneously kept ambiguous relationships with more than ten people; no loss by anyone else is reported.","causal_attribution":"Police statement relayed by the Epoch Times; context only, no further victims quantified."}],"effects":[{"label":"a man transferred 170,000 yuan over five months to a fabricated AI-processed persona and the money is reported spent","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://m.gmw.cn/2026-09/16/content_1304564495.htm","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"zh","translation_note":"Read in Chinese on 2026-09-19 (Guangming Net, 16 September 2026, sourced to 贵阳晚报). Marks the victim's name as a pseudonym (化名). Same police-programme chain as the other sources. Model-read original; English glosses unreviewed by a bilingual human. Chain line '综合：法治日报、案件聚焦、深圳新闻网'.","independence_group":"shanghai-police-case-focus-programme"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://news.qq.com/rain/a/20260915A0CNH000","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"zh","translation_note":"Read in Chinese on 2026-09-19 (Jiupai News on Tencent News, 15 September 2026; body recovered from the page's script payload). Carries the attribution line 来源：案件聚焦、看看新闻. Same chain as s1. Its lede reads '五年网恋' where its body and s1 say five months; the Jiaohuidian copy of the same text reads '关注对方账号五年、五个月网恋', so the lede is a truncation. Jiupai does not mark the names as pseudonyms; s1, s3 and s4 do.","independence_group":"shanghai-police-case-focus-programme"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.stheadline.com/zh-hans/realtime-china/3616014/AI%E5%8F%98%E8%84%B8%E9%AA%97%E5%B1%8065%E5%B2%81%E6%B8%85%E6%B4%81%E9%98%BF%E5%A7%A8%E4%BC%AA%E8%A3%8590%E5%90%8E%E7%BE%8E%E5%A5%B3%E5%8C%BB%E7%94%9F-%E4%B8%8A%E6%B5%B7%E7%94%B7%E7%BD%91%E6%81%8B5%E4%B8%AA%E6%9C%88%E8%A2%AB%E9%AA%9717%E4%B8%87","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"zh","translation_note":"Read in Chinese on 2026-09-19 (Sing Tao Headline, Hong Kong; '综合内媒报道', a digest of mainland reports). Marks both names as pseudonyms. Same chain.","independence_group":"shanghai-police-case-focus-programme"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.epochtimes.com/gb/26/9/17/n14851558.htm","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"zh","translation_note":"Read in Chinese on 2026-09-19 (Epoch Times, 17 September 2026; '据大陆媒体报导'). Adds the police statement that the suspect kept ambiguous relationships with more than ten people. Same chain.","independence_group":"shanghai-police-case-focus-programme"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["relationships","finance"],"unknowns":["The months of the five-month relationship and of the police report are not stated; frequent chatting began in 2025 per Guangming Net, so the first known event year is recorded as 2025 at year precision.","The AI tools used to make the videos are not identified.","Whether prosecutors have charged the suspect, and whether any money was recovered, is not reported.","Whether any of the more than ten other contacts lost money is not reported.","The Kankan News 案件聚焦 broadcast page was not readable (script shell); the programme's account is known through press relays."],"geography":{"basis":"The victim is described as a Shanghai man (上海男子), the two were in the same city (同在一个城市) and the demanded flat was in Shanghai (在上海购置房产); no court proceeding is reported.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["CN"],"affected_person_countries":["CN"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as an impersonation case with a documented 170,000 yuan loss to one person, where police examined the AI-processed videos and their AI-content label. One official chain relayed by several outlets, so claims are recorded as reported. Both parties are pseudonymised in the reporting and the pseudonyms have been elided from the quoted passages here.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-19"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"police, via the Kankan News programme 案件聚焦, said officers found an AI-generated-content label on some of the suspect's videos and established that her roughly 7,000 videos were produced with AI skin-smoothing and scene compositing. The AI content depicted a fabricated young persona shown to the victim, which is why depicted_or_impersonated is recorded; the chat itself was conducted by the suspect, so communicated_with is not recorded. Single official chain relayed by several outlets.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Shanghai: a man transferred 170,000 yuan over a five-month online romance with a '1992-born hospital doctor' whose roughly 7,000 videos were AI-processed fabrications by a 65-year-old woman; police took criminal coercive measures","summary":"police, as presented by the Kankan News programme 案件聚焦 (Case Focus), reported in September 2026 that a Shanghai property-engineering contractor had transferred 170,000 yuan in total during a five-month online relationship with a woman he had met on a social platform in 2021. She presented herself as born in 1992, a doctor at a well-known top-tier hospital with hospital property-engineering projects to award, and ran an account with more than 10,000 followers and close to 7,000 short videos of daily life. She refused to meet or take a video call, saying her mother opposed the relationship and demanded a 300,000 yuan bride price and a Shanghai flat; the man reported to a police station when the promised projects never materialised and his savings ran down. Police found she was born in 1961, aged 65, had no medical qualification and had worked as a hospital cleaner; the receiving bank account was registered to another man; the videos were all made with AI skin-smoothing and scene compositing, some carrying a small 'this work contains AI-generated content' label he had never noticed; and she used multiple accounts to play both herself and her long-dead mother. The money had gone on cosmetic treatments and clothing; she had a 2009 fraud conviction with a sentence of four and a half years and is now under criminal coercive measures for suspected fraud. Police also said she kept ambiguous relationships with more than ten people; no other losses are reported.","incidentDate":"2025-01-01","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"year","exposurePattern":"cumulative_relationship","reportedDate":"2026-09-15","aiSystem":"AI video processing ('AI磨皮、场景合成': AI skin-smoothing and scene compositing) used to produce close to 7,000 short videos of a fabricated young 'doctor' persona; tools not identified","aiProduct":"Unidentified AI video-editing tool","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["financial_loss"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"A Shanghai man transferred 170,000 yuan over five months to a fabricated 'doctor' persona whose videos police found were AI-processed; the money is reported spent and no recovery is reported.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One man with a documented loss of 170,000 yuan. Police said the suspect kept ambiguous relationships with more than ten other people, but no loss by anyone else is reported, so they are not counted.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"CN","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"investigation_opened","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://m.gmw.cn/2026-09/16/content_1304564495.htm","primarySourceLabel":"Guangming Net (光明网), 16 September 2026: 65岁阿姨AI换脸装“90后”美女，谈10多个暧昧对象 (Shanghai police programme 案件聚焦 via 贵阳晚报)","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-20T03:12:46.86943+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:17:53.218943+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["ai-generated-video","synthetic-persona","romance-fraud","shanghai","china","financial-loss","police-reported","ai-content-label"]},{"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)","aiProduct":"Unidentified video tool","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","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:17:43.85599+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["deepfake","voice-clone","impersonation","immigration","fraud","united-states","florida","depicted-or-impersonated"]},{"id":"2026-aarons-chatgpt-fabricated-testimony-sanction","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1a","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"Order passages quoted by Ars: contempt, $5,000 to the Client Protection Fund in 30 days, referral.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"Reuters wire: 'on Sept 9' — fine, contempt, referral, and the Sandoval caption.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"ABA Journal, 24 Aug: the $5,000 contempt anticipated from the 21 Aug show-cause hearing (pre-order; advance reporting, context only).","relation":"context","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"By written order of 9 September 2026, the New Mexico Supreme Court held Stephen Aarons in direct contempt, fined him $5,000 payable to the State Bar Client Protection Fund within 30 days, and referred him to the disciplinary board.","causal_attribution":"The contempt, fine and referral are quoted by Ars Technica and confirmed by the Reuters wire; the ABA Journal's hearing-day account anticipated but could not confirm the later written order. The order PDF itself was not retrieved in this review."},{"id":"c1b","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Ars: removal, bar pending referral, briefs struck, reassignment (Kim Chavez Cook appointed 2 Sep).","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The order also removed Aarons from the case, barred him from appearing before the court pending the disciplinary-board referral, struck the filed briefs and reassigned the appeal to the public defender (Kim Chavez Cook, appointed 2 September 2026).","causal_attribution":"Single-chain detail from Ars Technica's account of the order; the Reuters wire does not carry these elements."},{"id":"c2","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"Ars passages: Rev.com transcript plus record into ChatGPT (o3); the named fabricated witnesses and false attributions; the admission of non-verification.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"ABA Journal: 'admits stupidity over AI errors' at the show-cause hearing.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"Reuters headline account: 'ChatGPT invented fake police testimony in murder appeal, New Mexico high court says'.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Aarons used ChatGPT (OpenAI o3) on a Rev.com transcript and the case record to draft the brief, which contained fabricated witnesses and testimony — officers 'Michelle Amarillo' and 'Sanchez', Manal Al-Jibury, Teresa Marquez, and false testimony attributed to Danny and Linda Stanton and Mariah Chavez — and misdescribed real precedents; he admitted at the hearing that he had not verified the output.","causal_attribution":"The fabrication and the admission are established by the attorney's own statements at the hearing and the court's findings as reported; no source reports a denial."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Ars: substitution of the public defender (Kim Chavez Cook, appointed 2 Sep); the court's remark about the client.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The client, Oscar Renee Sandoval, suffers a delayed appeal: the briefs were struck, Aarons was removed, and the public defender was substituted (appointed 2 September 2026); the court told Aarons 'your client is the one suffering'.","causal_attribution":"Single-chain detail from Ars Technica's account of the order; the delay's length is not stated."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Reuters wire via Straits Times: Sandoval caption, life sentence February 2025, Doña Ana County.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"Ars: brief filed ~Aug 2025; State's motion to strike weeks later.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The underlying case is the murder appeal of Oscar Renee Sandoval, sentenced to life in February 2025 in Doña Ana County for killing his partner Shiereen Al-Jibury; the brief was filed around August 2025 and the State moved to strike weeks later.","causal_attribution":"Background context, attributed to the wire and Ars; the docket number was not confirmed in this review."}],"effects":[{"label":"attorney sanctioned for ChatGPT-fabricated testimony; client's appeal delayed","claim_id":"c1a","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/09/chatgpt-using-lawyer-punished-for-citing-fake-testimony-from-made-up-witnesses/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-15 (11 Sep 2026, Brodkin). Quotes the 9 September order and the 21 August hearing; names the fabricated witnesses.","independence_group":"ars"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/chatgpt-invented-fake-police-testimony-in-murder-appeal-new-mexico-high-court-says","kind":"wire_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-15 (11 Sep 2026); Straits Times carrying the Reuters wire.","independence_group":"reuters"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/criminal-defense-attorney-admits-stupidity-over-ai-errors-but-still-receives-sharp-rebuke-from-his-states-high-court","kind":"trade_press","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-15 (24 Aug 2026). Post-hearing report citing the Santa Fe New Mexican; the fine and contempt were anticipated from the hearing, not yet the written order.","independence_group":"aba-journal"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["work","justice"],"unknowns":["The 9 September 2026 order PDF was not directly inspected (nmcourts.gov search empty; form-based case lookup); the claims about it rest on two chains quoting it.","The underlying docket number is unconfirmed.","The disciplinary-board process and its outcome are pending.","The full set of fabricated or misdescribed citations beyond the named examples is not reported.","The ChatGPT product tier and whether the firm had verification policies are not reported."],"geography":{"basis":"Events: Santa Fe, New Mexico practice and the Doña Ana County murder case. Affected persons: the attorney and his client, both in New Mexico. Court: New Mexico Supreme Court.","court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as an own-use, work-context adverse consequence with a dated, quantified sanction and an admitted, judicially found AI link. This applies the charter's individual-review rule to the AI-sanction class; the retired ordinary_task_failure gate and a class-level ruling are not required. Aarons is a public officer of the court sanctioned by a public order and is named; his client's name appears in the public caption of the appeal. In a 2026-09-15 second pass the original compound first claim was split: the corroborated contempt/fine/referral stand as c1a, and the Ars-only order elements (removal, bar, struck briefs, reassignment) stand as reported c1b. person_relations recorded in the same pass.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-15"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The AI link is admitted and judicially found: Aarons fed a Rev.com transcript and the record into ChatGPT (OpenAI o3), and the court's order addresses the fabricated content in the filed brief; he admitted at the show-cause hearing that he had not verified the output.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"New Mexico Supreme Court fines attorney Stephen Aarons $5,000 and removes him from a murder appeal over ChatGPT-fabricated testimony","summary":"Santa Fe defense attorney Stephen Aarons used ChatGPT (OpenAI's o3) on a Rev.com transcript and the record to draft briefing in the murder appeal of Oscar Renee Sandoval; the brief contained fabricated witnesses and testimony (including police officers 'Michelle Amarillo' and 'Sanchez' and invented testimony attributed to real people) and misdescribed real precedents. After a 21 August 2026 show-cause hearing at which Aarons admitted he had not verified the output, the New Mexico Supreme Court's written order of 9 September 2026 held him in direct contempt, fined him $5,000 payable to the State Bar Client Protection Fund within 30 days, removed him from the case, barred him from appearing before the court pending a disciplinary-board referral, struck the filed briefs and reassigned the appeal to the public defender.","incidentDate":"2025-08-01","incidentEndDate":"2026-09-09","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"range","exposurePattern":"single_interaction","reportedDate":"2026-08-24","aiSystem":"ChatGPT (OpenAI o3)","aiProduct":"ChatGPT","aiCompany":"OpenAI","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["professional_harm","legal_harm","financial_loss"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"A dated, quantified professional sanction for the attorney who relied on ChatGPT's output: $5,000 fine, direct-contempt finding, removal from the case, a bar on appearing before the court pending a disciplinary-board referral, and struck briefs; his client's appeal is delayed as a result.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"established","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"Two documented harmed people. The user: Aarons, sanctioned (court order reported by Ars Technica and Reuters). Another person's use consequence: his client Sandoval, whose appeal is delayed by the struck briefs and the substitution of counsel (Ars quotes the court's 'your client is the one suffering'). No further harmed persons are reported; the victim's family is not counted (no harm to them is reported).","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"US","platformType":"assistant","outcomeType":"regulatory_action","outcomeStatus":"resolved","primarySourceUrl":"https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/09/chatgpt-using-lawyer-punished-for-citing-fake-testimony-from-made-up-witnesses/","primarySourceLabel":"Ars Technica (11 Sep 2026) — quotes the 9 Sep order and the 21 Aug show-cause hearing","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-15T06:16:05.506355+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:17:22.660417+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["work","justice","legal-profession","sanction","fabricated-citations","chatgpt","own-use","new-mexico"]}]}