As Pennsylvania cracks down on AI, multiple chatbots continue to pose as doctors; Spotlight PA, June 8, 2026

  

Jaxon White , Spotlight PA; As Pennsylvania cracks down on AI, multiple chatbots continue to pose as doctors

"Chatbots on five different websites claimed to be licensed to practice medicine in the commonwealth when prompted by Spotlight PA — the same kind of output that led the Shapiro administration to file a lawsuit last month.

A task force under Pennsylvania’s Department of State has been working since February to identify AI chatbots posing as licensed professionals and misleading users. Based on that work, the administration filed suit against the role-playing site Character.AI.

Mirroring the investigation detailed in the Department of State’s lawsuit, Spotlight PA had conversations with AI characters on websites Talkie, Janitor, Kindroid, Replika, and Nomi.AI. All provided a false Pennsylvania medical license number when prompted, a key part of the state’s argument in its lawsuit against Character.AI."

Humans Who Used a Bear Suit to Defraud Car Insurers Are Sentenced to Jail; The New York Times. April 18, 2026

 Hannah Ziegler , The New York Times; Humans Who Used a Bear Suit to Defraud Car Insurers Are Sentenced to Jail

"Three Southern California residents were sentenced to jail after masterminding a scheme in which they staged fake bear attacks on their luxury cars, then collected more than $141,000 in insurance payouts, officials said on Thursday.

To carry out the attacks, the residents had a person in a bear suit climb into the cars and use claw-like kitchen utensils to leave scratch marks, the California Department of Insurance said.

The Los Angeles County residents then filed claims to defraud three different insurance companies, the department said.

Two of the defendants — Ruben Tamrazian, 26, and Vahe Muradkhanyan, 32, both of Glendale, Calif. — were sentenced to 180 days in jail, or about six months, and ordered to pay more than $50,000 each in restitution, the department said in a news release...

A biologist from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife also reviewed video footage of the bear’s activities and determined that the animal was “clearly a human in a bear suit,” the California Department of Insurance said."

Beware of Copyright Scams: How to Spot Fraud and Protect Yourself; Library of Congress Blogs, Copyright Creativity at Work, February 5, 2025

 George Thuronyi, Library of Congress Blogs, Copyright Creativity at Work; Beware of Copyright Scams: How to Spot Fraud and Protect Yourself

"Fraud exists in many forms, and the copyright arena is no exception. Creators, businesses, and members of the public engage online with copyright law, registration systems, and licensing practices. Bad actors sometimes exploit misunderstandings about how copyright works and how the U.S. Copyright Office operates. Scams involving copyright can be convincing, costly, and stressful, but knowing how they work is the first step toward avoiding them.

This post explains the U.S. Copyright Office’s role, describes common types of copyright-related fraud, outlines why these schemes are harmful, and offers practical steps to take if you suspect fraud."

Trump pardons South Bay businesswoman convicted of fraud after he granted her clemency once before; The San Diego Union-Tribune, January 16, 2026

 ALEX RIGGINS , The San Diego Union-Tribune; Trump pardons South Bay businesswoman convicted of fraud after he granted her clemency once before

"For the second time in five years, President Donald Trump has granted clemency to twice-convicted South Bay businesswoman Adriana Isabel Camberos, this time issuing her and her brother full and unconditional pardons of their fraud convictions after commuting her previous fraud sentence in 2021.

Camberos, 55, was first convicted in 2016 of taking part in a fraud scheme with her husband and others that involved selling counterfeit 5-Hour Energy drinks. She was about halfway through her 26-month prison term in that case when Trump commuted her sentence on the last day of his first term. Unlike a full pardon, that action set her free from prison but didn’t wipe out her conviction.

But in 2023, federal prosecutors in San Diego alleged that Camberos and her brother, Andres “Andy” Enrique Camberos, were operating a new fraud scheme that netted them tens of millions of dollars by selling discounted products meant to be sold in Mexico in the more lucrative U.S. market.

A San Diego federal jury later convicted the siblings on eight fraud counts. Among the jury’s findings was that the siblings committed wire fraud just 42 days after Trump first granted Adriana Camberos clemency."

Trump Frees Fraudster Just Days Into Seven-Year Prison Sentence David Gentile had been found guilty for his role in what prosecutors described as a $1.6 billion scheme that defrauded thousands of investors.; The New York Times, November 29, 2025

 Kenneth P. Vogel, The New York Times ; Trump Frees Fraudster Just Days Into Seven-Year Prison Sentence 

David Gentile had been found guilty for his role in what prosecutors described as a $1.6 billion scheme that defrauded thousands of investors.

"President Trump has set free a private equity executive who had served less than two weeks of a seven-year sentence for his role in what prosecutors described as a $1.6 billion scheme that defrauded thousands of victims.

David Gentile, 59, a onetime resident of Nassau County, N.Y., had reported to prison on Nov. 14, and was released on Wednesday, according to Bureau of Prisons records and a White House official who was not authorized to discuss the matter.

Mr. Gentile and a co-defendant, Jeffry Schneider, were convicted in August 2024 of securities and wire fraud charges, and sentenced in May. Unlike a pardon, the commutation granted to Mr. Gentile will not erase his conviction. 

Mr. Schneider, who was sentenced to six years, does not appear to have received clemency from Mr. Trump...

Mr. Trump has used the unfettered presidential clemency power to forgive an array of white-collar crimes and to make political points, including by casting prosecutions of his supporters as corrupt witch hunts like those that he claims had targeted him.

It was not immediately clear whether Mr. Gentile had connections to Mr. Trump or to the president’s supporters."

‘Fraud is not a trade secret’: How a 27-year-old blew the whistle on Theranos; MarketWatch, 11/17/16

Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch; ‘Fraud is not a trade secret’: How a 27-year-old blew the whistle on Theranos’ :

[Kip Currier: Ethics instructors of all stripes were served up a whopping good case study with the story of Tyler Schultz (grandson of former Secretary of State George Schultz) exposing the dazzlingly fraudulent actions of health tech powerhouse, Theranos, Inc. and its now-disgraced CEO Elizabeth Holmes. This is one that should and will be studied in MBA programs and ethics courses for years.]

"‘Fraud is not a trade secret. I refuse to allow bullying, intimidation and threat of legal action to take away my First Amendment right to speak out against wrongdoing.’"

Lawmakers to Wells Fargo CEO: ‘Why shouldn’t you be in jail?’; Washington Post, 9/29/16

Renae Merle, Washington Post; Lawmakers to Wells Fargo CEO: ‘Why shouldn’t you be in jail?’ :

"Some members peppered Stumpf with questions about whether he should be criminally prosecuted.

“Why shouldn’t you be in jail?” asked Rep. Michael E. Capuano (D-Mass.) “When prosecutors get hold of you, you are going to have a lot of fun.” “Do you think what you did was criminal?” Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.) asked. Stumpf responded that he had led the bank with “courage,” but was interrupted again...

“We have a culture based on ethics, and doing what’s right,” Stumpf said to the committee. “I stand with the people who are doing the right thing.”

Several lawmakers noted that despite Stumpf's emphasis on ethics, the bank has been hit with various fines over the past decade, including some linked to the housing crash."

Wells Fargo Case Prompts Questions Of Corporate Ethics Reform; NPR, 9/24/16

[Podcast] NPR; Wells Fargo Case Prompts Questions Of Corporate Ethics Reform:

"The bank's CEO appeared before a Senate banking committee this week to answer questions about fake accounts created by more than 5,000 of his employees. Scott Simon talks with consultant Dov Seidman."

Patent office workers bilked the government of millions by playing hooky, watchdog finds; Washington Post, 8/31/16

Lisa Rein, Washington Post; Patent office workers bilked the government of millions by playing hooky, watchdog finds:

"Thousands of employees who review patents for the federal government potentially cheated taxpayers out of at least $18.3 million as they billed the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for almost 300,000 hours they never worked, according to a new investigation...

The investigation scheduled for release Wednesday by the independent watchdog for the Commerce Department, the patent office’s parent agency, determined that the real scale of fraud is probably double those numbers..."

The lapses were not just by patent examiners. The report faults agency leaders for failing to give managers crucial tools to prevent and detect time and attendance abuse despite ample evidence that it occurs...

Investigators also found widespread time and attendance abuse at another Commerce agency, the U.S. Census Bureau, where employees in the small hiring office overcharged the government for thousands of hours of time they never worked. The fraud, also carried out by supervisors, involved 40 employees, more than half of the staff of the small office."