Attorney General John M. Formella announced today that Steven Kramer, age 54, of New Orleans, LA, has been indicted on charges of felony voter suppression and misdemeanor impersonation of a candidate.
This indictment follows an extensive investigation into a series of AI-generated robocalls that targeted New Hampshire residents.
Investigation Launched in January
On January 22, 2024, the Attorney General’s Office initiated an investigation after receiving reports of thousands of New Hampshire residents being targeted by a robocall message.
The message urged recipients to “save [their] vote for the November election” and misleadingly stated, “[y]our vote makes a difference in November, not this Tuesday.”
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The voice in the message was artificially generated to mimic President Biden, and the call appeared to be spoofed to falsely show it was sent by the treasurer of a political committee supporting President Biden’s write-in efforts for the New Hampshire Democratic Presidential Primary.
Following the investigation, Steven Kramer has been charged with 13 felony counts of voter suppression, contrary to RSA 659:40, III, and 13 misdemeanor counts of impersonation of a candidate, contrary to RSA 666:7-a.
The charges are distributed across four counties based on the residence of the thirteen New Hampshire residents who received the robocalls:
- Rockingham County: Five counts of violating each statute
- Belknap County: Three counts
- Grafton County: Three counts
- Merrimack County: Two counts
“New Hampshire remains committed to ensuring that our elections remain free from unlawful interference, and our investigation into this matter remains ongoing,” said Attorney General Formella.
“The Federal Communications Commission will separately be announcing an enforcement action against Mr. Kramer based on violations of federal law.
I am pleased to see that our federal partners are similarly committed to protecting consumers and voters from harmful robocalls and voter suppression.
I hope that our respective enforcement actions send a strong deterrent signal to anyone who might consider interfering with elections, whether through artificial intelligence or otherwise.”
Legal Provisions and Allegations
RSA 659:40, III
RSA 659:40, III states: “No person shall engage in voter suppression by knowingly attempting to prevent or deter another person from voting or registering to vote based on fraudulent, deceptive, misleading, or spurious grounds or information.”
The charges allege that Mr. Kramer violated this statute by sending or causing to be sent a pre-recorded phone message that disguised the source of the call, deceptively used an artificially created voice of a candidate, or provided misleading information to deter thirteen identified voters from voting in the January 23, 2024, Presidential Primary Election.
RSA 666:7-a
RSA 666:7-a provides: “Any person who places a telephone call during which the person falsely represents himself or herself as a candidate for office shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.”
The charges allege that Mr. Kramer, either by his conduct or by the conduct of another person for which he is legally accountable, violated this statute by knowingly placing a telephone call to thirteen identified voters during which he falsely represented himself as a candidate for office.
It is important to note that the charges and allegations against Mr. Kramer are merely accusations, and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
This matter was investigated by Investigator Richard Tracy of the Department of Justice’s Election Law Unit.
The criminal case is being prosecuted by Assistant Attorneys General Brendan O’Donnell and Matthew Conley, also of the Election Law Unit.
The investigation into the AI-Generated President Biden Robocalls, including other potentially responsible parties, remains active and ongoing.
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