Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn say they have cracked down on an alleged AI-driven porn operation that pulled in millions of views, announcing Wednesday that two people have been arrested over “deepfake” pornography that allegedly targeted celebrities, elected officials and private individuals. The criminal complaints, unsealed in the Eastern District of New York, describe hundreds of albums of AI-generated sexual content. One defendant was arrested in New Jersey and the other in Bedias, Texas, authorities said.
What prosecutors say
According to a Department of Justice press release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of New York has charged 51-year-old Cornelius Shannon of Hasbrouck Heights, N.J., and 20-year-old Arturo Hernandez of Bedias, Texas, with violating the TAKE IT DOWN Act. Prosecutors allege Shannon published at least 360 albums of AI deepfake pornography depicting roughly 90 female victims, with his uploads drawing millions of views. Hernandez is accused of publishing about 113 albums depicting approximately 50 victims, with the content viewed nearly a million times.
The complaint against Hernandez - a Department of Justice court filing - describes yearbook-style portraits and albums that investigators say morph into sexually explicit videos of classmates, friends and, in one instance, a "religious mother and daughter." It is essentially the nightmare version of a school photo album.
Allegations detailed in filings
Investigators say the material ran the gamut from manipulated images of public figures to AI-generated depictions of private individuals. As first reported by the New York Post, the complaints describe albums that begin with non-explicit portraits and then shift into videos showing the likenesses of the same people engaging in sexual conduct. Prosecutors say the uploads were placed on image and video platforms geared to adult creators, and that multiple accounts and reposts helped spread the content far and wide.
Take It Down Act and enforcement
The arrests are brought under the TAKE IT DOWN Act, a federal law that criminalizes nonconsensual intimate imagery - including AI-generated “digital forgeries” - and requires certain online platforms to take down flagged material. The law imposes notice-and-removal obligations on covered sites, giving them 48 hours to act after they are notified.
The Federal Trade Commission began enforcing the law’s platform rules this month and launched its complaint portal at Federal Trade Commission, which it is promoting as TakeItDown.ftc.gov for victims and for reports about platforms that fail to comply. Federal prosecutors have already put the statute to work in court: the first conviction under the law was secured in Ohio in April 2026, according to NBC News.
Next steps and resources
The complaints state that Shannon appeared in Brooklyn federal court and was expected to be released following that appearance, while Hernandez was arrested in Texas and will be arraigned in the Eastern District of New York at a later date. For now, both cases sit at the complaint stage, not a verdict.
Victims or anyone who discovers nonconsensual intimate images online can report them to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center at IC3.gov, contact their local FBI field office, or use the FTC’s TakeItDown.ftc.gov portal if a platform does not comply with removal rules. The charges in the complaints are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
