New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella held a press conference on Tuesday to address a concerning incident involving robocalls that targeted voters in the state’s primaries. These robocalls featured an “AI-generated clone” of President Biden’s voice, urging recipients not to participate in the primary elections.
Formella, a Republican, expressed his commitment to ensuring election integrity and announced possible federal and state actions in response to this incident. He emphasized the importance of public confidence in the electoral process and the need to deter any attempts to undermine elections through AI or other means.
The robocalls, made just two days before the primary elections, played recorded messages with an imitation of President Biden’s voice. The calls urged voters to save their votes for the November election, stating they would make a difference in November, not in the primary.
The investigation identified that the robocalls originated from two companies in Texas, Life Corporation and Lingo Telecom. They unlawfully altered their caller ID information to make it seem like the calls were from a phone number owned by the previous chair of the New Hampshire Democratic Party. Additionally, the automated message prompted recipients to dial that number if they wished to be excluded from future calls.
Upon receiving multiple reports and complaints, the New Hampshire Department of Justice immediately opened an investigation in collaboration with the Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force and the Federal Communications Commission Enforcement Bureau. Through tracebacks conducted by the Industry Traceback Group, the source of the calls was identified as Life Corporation, owned by Walter Monk, and the originating source provider was identified as Lingo Telecom.
Following the investigation, Lingo Telecom halted its services to Life Corporation. Those involved in making these calls could be subject to both civil and criminal consequences according to New Hampshire’s regulations against voter suppression. Moreover, federal repercussions are possible under the Truth and Caller ID Act of 2009, which prohibits transmitting misleading caller ID information to commit fraud or cause damage.
The New Hampshire Department of Justice has issued a cease-and-desist letter to Life Corporation, ordering the company to stop violating election laws in the state immediately. Formella’s office has opened a criminal investigation, and further steps will be taken, including sending document preservation notices and subpoenas to Life Corporation, Lingo Telecom, and any other individuals or entities with relevant information.
Formella expressed gratitude to the attorneys general of North Carolina, Ohio, and Indiana for their bipartisan collaboration in addressing threats to the electoral process. He also acknowledged the contributions of YouMail and Nomorobo, companies that assist in collecting data on illegal robocalls.
