Two workers at an Ohio restaurant are facing criminal charges after police say they used ChatGPT to create a fake robbery report that prompted an emergency police response.
Officers were sent to Rubin’s Deli & Restaurant in Elyria on the morning of December 15 after receiving calls about an active robbery involving masked suspects. When police arrived, they found no signs of a crime, with customers still dining inside and operations running normally.
Investigators later determined the report was a prank carried out by two employees using AI-generated content. Police identified the suspects as Todd Durst, 45, and Luis Acevedo Jr., 40. Durst was arrested at the scene and charged with swatting, obstructing official business, and inducing panic. Acevedo Jr. left before officers arrived and is now wanted on the same charges.
According to police, Durst allegedly created an AI-generated image using ChatGPT showing masked individuals inside the restaurant and sent it to Acevedo Jr., who forwarded it to the owner. Believing the image was real, the owner contacted authorities.
Police warned that AI-generated emergency hoaxes are serious crimes that waste resources and can have severe legal consequences.