Texas Company Was Behind Robocalls from Voters Posing as Biden, NH Says
New Hampshire's attorney general said Tuesday that his office, along with federal officials and other state attorneys general, last month identified the company behind robocalls that used an impersonation of President Biden's voice to urge Democrats not to vote in the state's primaries.
The attorney general, John M. Formella, said the calls came from Life Corporation, a Texas-based company owned by Walter Monk, and that they were routed through a carrier called Lingo Telecom. Mr. Monk, the Texas company and the provider did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“We will not tolerate any action that seeks to undermine the integrity of our elections and our democratic process,” Mr Formella said at a news conference. “The message to any person or company who might attempt to engage in these activities is clear and simple: don't try.”
Mr. Formella's office has opened a criminal investigation, sent Life Corporation a defamation letter and sent both Life Corporation and Lingo Telecom subpoenas and notices to preserve documents, he said. The letter, a copy of which his office provided to The New York Times, accuses Life Corporation of violating a New Hampshire law that prohibits efforts to “prevent or deter” anyone from voting.
The robocalls told New Hampshire residents — using a voice that was most likely generated by artificial intelligence and sounded like Mr. Biden's — that they could not participate in the state's Jan. 23 primary because “your vote is a makes a difference in November, not this one. Tuesday.” Voting in a primary does not prevent anyone from voting in the general election.
The caller ID was spoofed to make it appear as if the calls were coming from Kathleen Sullivan, a former chair of the New Hampshire Democratic Party, who filed a complaint with the state's attorney general.
Mr. Formella also said at the news conference that the Federal Communications Commission had sent a cease-and-desist letter to Lingo Telecom, which an FCC spokesman confirmed, and that the Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force, a coalition of state-owned enterprises, attorneys general, had sent a warning letter and “taken other steps” for possible civil lawsuits.
He said he wanted to “assure the public that we are taking this seriously and that this is one of our top priorities,” and wanted to “send a strong message of deterrence to any person or entity that would attempt to undermine our elections through AI or other means.”
A phone number for Life Corporation went straight to voicemail on Tuesday and a message left there was not immediately returned. Mr. Monk did not immediately respond to attempts to reach him by email and a phone call. A message left at a number listed for Lingo Telecom was also not immediately returned, nor was an email to the company's main information address.
Susan Campbell Beachy research contributed.