FBI Arrests Two Men Under Take It Down Act for Selling AI-Generated Nonconsensual Deepfakes

Two men face federal charges under the Take It Down Act after FBI agents identified them by browsing porn websites and following hashtags such as "#AI #Deepfakes" and video titles including "AI_tits" and "Ass_AI" — underscoring how little investigative effort was required to surface the alleged violations.

Arturo Hernandez, 20, of Texas, is accused of posting 113 albums that were viewed nearly a million times, featuring AI-generated sexualized images and videos of approximately 50 women. Victims included political figures, actresses, and musicians, as well as women who attended his Texas high school and at least one Instagram friend, according to a federal complaint.

Investigators linked Hernandez to the content through geo-location data, PayPal records, and Apple iCloud logs. An FBI special agent, Christopher Powell, explained in an affidavit that a second account re-posting Hernandez's alleged uploads was tied to his PayPal account, and that an IP address used to access that account matched one in Hernandez's Apple records.

Cops also found that Hernandez had saved, in a folder on his own Instagram account, the specific image used to create AI porn content that had been viewed more than 36,000 times — and that he followed the Instagram account of one of the victims depicted in that content.

Hernandez reportedly attempted to obscure his identity by registering a Gmail account under the nickname "Ryan." Investigators noted, however, that the same nickname appeared on his Snapchat account.

The second suspect, 51-year-old Cornelius "Neil" Shannon, allegedly required even less work to identify. Shannon is accused of publishing approximately 360 AI-generated albums viewed more than 2 million times, depicting approximately 90 women — primarily political figures, actresses, and musicians. Powell's affidavit stated that Shannon appeared to have used his own photograph as the account's profile picture.

Cross-referencing Department of Motor Vehicle records and surveillance photos, investigators alleged that the man in the profile image, shown wearing a Mets baseball shirt, was Shannon.

Both Hernandez and Shannon face up to two years in prison if convicted under the Take It Down Act.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a press release that the suspects used "cutting-edge digital technology to create images that degraded and violated victims across the United States." James C. Barnacle, Jr., assistant director in charge of the New York FBI field office, said his agents would continue pursuing similar cases.

"This predatory conduct represents a disturbing abuse of technology that inflicts emotional harm on victims, violating their privacy, dignity, and security," Barnacle said. "The use of this emerging technology to victimize individuals is not innovative — it is criminal and will be pursued with the full force of the law."

The arrests come as federal enforcement of the Take It Down Act is still in its early stages. An Ohio man identified as the first person arrested under the law reportedly continued producing sexualized deepfakes while on pre-trial release.

The Federal Trade Commission also moved last week, sending warning letters to 12 companies offering so-called "nudify" tools, telling them to establish victim-removal processes within 48 hours or face civil penalties of up to $53,088 per violation. A separate round of FTC letters went to major platforms — including Amazon, Alphabet, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Snapchat, TikTok, and X — warning them to be prepared for penalties in cases of non-compliance.

Critics have noted that the Take It Down Act does not prevent initial sharing and still places the burden on victims to monitor and flag harmful content across platforms, reflecting ongoing debate about the law's practical reach.

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