A Houston gun shop co-owner is now staring down a massive civil lawsuit that claims he weaponized deepfake technology to trash the reputation of a local social media influencer.
The suit accuses Jorge “George” Abrego, a co‑owner of HTX Tactical, and his company of making and spreading explicit deepfake images and videos of the woman as part of a campaign that allegedly targeted her professional life. Abrego is already facing related criminal charges that grew out of a Harris County Sheriff’s Office investigation last year.
The Buzbee Law Firm filed the civil case on Tuesday on behalf of the unnamed influencer, seeking more than $1 million in compensatory damages and punitive damages that put the total tab north of $10 million, according to Click2Houston. “This conduct is harmful and defamatory,” attorney Tony Buzbee said in a statement about the filing.
Allegations and criminal case
Abrego was arrested in August 2025 and is charged with online impersonation and unlawful production or distribution of certain sexually explicit videos, according to the Houston Chronicle. Court filings and law enforcement statements say deputies recovered more than 50 images and videos from devices seized in the investigation, and the influencer told deputies she had never posted nude material online.
Hoodline first covered the arrest when deputies say Abrego was charged with creating deepfake content, a preview of the legal storm that is now fully underway.
How investigators traced the accounts
Deputies say they used grand jury subpoenas to pull user information, cell phone and email subscriber data, and device logs in order to track the fake profiles, and investigators say Abrego was logged into several of the impersonating TikTok accounts, according to ABC13.
Local reporting also indicates that the phone number used to create at least one of the accounts matched a number registered to Abrego and that an IP address tied to the profiles was registered to HTX Tactical, per Click2Houston. For investigators, that digital trail was the backbone of the case.
Legal angle
Texas has updated its laws to address nonconsensual synthetic sexual media. In 2025, the state’s unlawful production statute was expanded to cover “deep fake media,” broadening the types of images and videos that fall under the law and creating restitution options for victims, according to the bill text on the Texas Legislature’s website.
Legal analysts say the basic offense is often charged as a misdemeanor, although it can be enhanced in certain situations, and that civil lawsuits like this one offer another route for victims seeking compensation, according to commentary from Texas practitioners.
What’s next
The new civil claim creates a second legal front alongside the ongoing Harris County criminal case and seeks substantial compensatory and punitive awards that Buzbee says are meant to send a message to anyone tempted to use deepfakes in similar ways. Court records show Abrego was released on bond and that the criminal case remains active, so both civil discovery and criminal proceedings are expected to move ahead at the same time, according to the Houston Chronicle.
As the filings work their way through Houston courts, the case is poised to test how existing criminal statutes and civil remedies can be applied to nonconsensual synthetic sexual media. We will continue to track court dockets and local reporting for updates in both the criminal and civil cases.
