New York Man Faces Federal Cyberstalking Charge After Posting AI-Generated Nude Images and Racist Messages from Fake Social Media Profiles

ATLANTA - Anthony Belford was arraigned last week on federal charges of cyberstalking after allegedly using social media accounts to post more than a dozen messages with nude images generated by artificial intelligence and racist comments during a three-month online harassment scheme.

"Belford allegedly waged a lengthy online campaign, hiding behind spoofed social media and email accounts to harass, intimidate, and cause substantial distress to his victim with racist messages and AI-generated nude images," said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. "Cyberstalking and other forms of online abuse, just like physical violence, can ruin lives and disrupt communities. Victims of such crimes should not suffer in silence, and we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to hold the perpetrators of these crimes accountable using all available tools."

"The alleged use of AI-generated images and fake online accounts to harass and intimidate a victim shows that digital abuse can have very real consequences," said Marlo Graham, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. "The FBI will continue working with our law enforcement partners to identify offenders and hold them accountable for using digital platforms to harass, threaten, and cause emotional distress."

According to U.S. Attorney Hertzberg, the charges, and other information presented in court: Between January and March 2025, Anthony Belford allegedly devised and carried out a scheme to create fake social media and email accounts to harass, intimidate, and cause substantial emotional distress to a college student in Georgia. Belford allegedly created and used fake social media accounts to spread lies in the victim's community that the victim was racist and to send racist and derogatory messages, posing as the victim, to student groups at the victim's college. He also repeatedly posted AI-generated nude images of the victim online, created fake social media accounts that appeared to belong to the victim, and used those accounts to distribute the AI-generated images. To amplify the impact of his campaign to cause the victim substantial emotional distress, Belford allegedly used spoofed accounts on an online forum to direct community members to the fake information he disseminated through other social media platforms.

On June 10, 2026, Anthony Belford, 21, of New York, appeared in federal court after a federal grand jury returned an indictment on June 3, 2026, charging him with one count of cyberstalking. Members of the public are reminded that the indictment only contains charges. The defendant is presumed innocent of the charges, and it will be the government's burden to prove the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

It is a federal crime for someone to share, or threaten to share, intimate photos or videos of someone without their consent, including AI-generated images. Victims should report the conduct to local law enforcement and the FBI. Online platforms are required to remove nonconsensual intimate photos or videos and any duplicates upon request, and victims are urged to report online platforms that do not comply with a request to remove the content to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) within 48 hours. More information about steps you can take to protect yourself and hold perpetrators and online platforms accountable is available here: Take it Down Act: What Else You Can DoLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link..

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney's Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6185. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.