Texas Man Identified As Originator Of Illegal Biden-AI Voter Suppression Robocalls: NH AG

CONCORD, NH — New Hampshire’s attorney general may be pursuing criminal charges and civil penalties against a Texas man and his company after they were accused of creating an AI-generated robocall of President Joe Biden, in an attempt to suppress voters in the state’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary last month.

John Formella, the attorney general, accused Walter Monk, who lives in the Arlington, TX, area, and his company, Life Corporation, of Austin, TX, of creating the calls and sending them to Granite Staters urging them not to vote on Jan. 23. He also said Lingo Telecom was “the originating voice service provider” for many of the calls. The robocall featured Biden’s voice telling voters to “save your vote” for the November election, “not this Tuesday,” in an effort to suppress the write-in vote turnout. Voter suppression is a felony in New Hampshire.

Investigators, he said, worked with state and federal partners, including the Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force, a bipartisan task force comprising all the state attorneys general, and the FCC Enforcement Bureau. Formella thanked YouMail, Nomorobo, and the Industry Traceback Group for assisting investigators in identifying who sent the calls. Lingo Telecom suspended services to Life Corporation after receiving notice from the attorney general’s office.

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The Industry Traceback Group is a consortium of private companies that assist law enforcement and the government in identifying robocalls, Formella said.

The robocalls were sent out to an unknown number of voters on Jan. 21, mostly Democrats, according to complaints received by the department of justice. The calls also listed the cellphone number of the former chairwoman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party, Kathy Sullivan of Manchester, as the number to call so voters to opt out of the robocall.

“Ensuring public confidence in the electoral process is vital,” he said. “And, in law enforcement, I can say, it’s one of our highest priorities. We are providing this update and information today to ensure the public that we take this seriously, and this is one of our most important priorities. But we are also providing this update and information to send a strong message of deterrence to any person or entity who would attempt to undermine our elections through AI or other means.”

During questioning, which was limited to non-investigatory information and matters, Formella said Sullivan received about 10 calls. He did not know how many robocalls were sent or how many voters were discouraged from casting ballots.

“We’re still working to get the exact number of people who received the calls,” he said. “It’s thousands … a wide range … between 5,000 or 25,000 (calls).”

Nomorobo provided the estimate.

Formella said investigators had not determined the motive of Monk or any political affiliations he may have or who else might be involved. One North Country Democrat who received the call has accused interests connected to former President Donald Trump of being involved and has called on him to be removed from the November ballot.

The company, he said, had a history of sending out robocalls and had gotten caught up in the past with the FCC, but investigators were still “getting the full scope” of what it does. The cease-and-desist notice was to “put them on notice” of any action, Formella said.

“From this point forward,” he said, “they couldn’t plead ignorance or claim they didn’t know (about the actions).”

Formella was asked about the ease by which investigators quickly gathered information about the robocalls and whether it was due to the electronic nature of the process. It was pointed out that illegal mailers in November 2016, before he was attorney general, were never investigated despite evidence provided to the department. Those mailers featured inaccurate information and are believed to have cost Kelly Ayotte her re-election campaign that year by driving votes to two independent candidates, a Libertarian and a conservative indie who was a former Republican. Ayotte lost by about 1,000 votes. The mailers were sent by a New Jersey Democrat printing and mailing company.

Formella said he could not comment on the 2016 incident but added it takes a long time to build criminal cases even if investigators know people have taken certain actions. He said the press briefing also warned others not to try similar illegal activity.

Sixteen months ago, before the 2022 Republican primary, mailers were sent to voters by a Massachusetts Democrat printing and mailing company, but Formella’s investigators had not acted against that company either. Some Republicans were concerned with the lack of action in the 2022 case, considering the fact the party was about six months away from another primary and there was nothing to stop the mail houses from sending illegal mailers into New Hampshire.

Formella said the department was taking the 2022 violations seriously and they were working “as quickly as we can” to move forward with the case. Formella added the mailing house in Massachusetts was put on notice.

“We don’t tolerate any violation of our election laws,” he said.

After the press conference, the AG’s Office said investigators could not confirm media reports that ElevenLabs was involved in the case, but they were “continuing to investigate” the claim.

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