The crime. In April 2024, a fake audio recording circulated online that appeared to capture a Maryland high school principal making racist and antisemitic remarks. Investigators later concluded the clip was an AI-generated deepfake created to destroy the principal’s reputation following a workplace dispute. The hoax triggered public outrage, threats, and significant disruption to school operations. While not a money-transfer scam, the case is instructive as a prosecuted, sentenced misuse of generative AI to deceive and cause harm—showing courts are penalizing AI-assisted deception. AP News
Criminal. Former school athletics director Dazhon Darien ultimately admitted (via an Alford plea) to a charge related to disrupting school operations. Separate investigations uncovered additional alleged misconduct unrelated to the deepfake. AP News
Victims and impact. The principal and school community were victims. The audio’s release inflicted reputational damage, safety concerns, and operational disruption—illustrating how AI fakes can rapidly weaponize falsehoods against identifiable individuals. AP News
Sentence. In May 2025, Darien was sentenced to four months in jail for the deepfake-related offense—the rare instance (so far) of a US court handing down jail time tied to the malicious creation and dissemination of a generative-AI deception. AP News
The lesson. Even when money isn’t directly stolen, AI-assisted impersonation and falsification can inflict serious harm and carry criminal penalties. Organizations should log reputation-threat playbooks: rapid authenticity checks (forensic audio analysis, verified statements from the purported speaker), fast internal communications to staff/parents, and preservation of platform metadata for law enforcement. AP News
(This report is a collaboration with ChatGPT-5.)
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Educational Technology and Change Journal 
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