New York man accused of harassing Georgia student with AI-generated nudes, racist messages

A New York man has been arraigned on federal charges of cyberstalking after officials say he waged a months-long harassment scheme against a Georgia college student.

Federal authorities say 21-year-old Anthony Belford went as far as to use fake social media accounts with AI-generated nude images and racist messages designed to harass his victim.

According to information presented in court, Belford made the accounts between January and March 2025 to "spread lies in the victim's community that the victim was racist." In these accounts, prosecutors say Belford posed as his victim, described only as a Georgia college student, to send racist messages to student groups on the victim's campus.

Belford also allegedly posted AI-generated nude images of victim and used faked accounts on an online forum to direct other people to the information he created.

"Cyberstalking and other forms of online abuse, just like physical violence, can ruin lives and disrupt communities,"  U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said. "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."  

On June 3, a federal jury indicted Belford on one count of cyberstalking. He appeared in court a week later.