AI Crimes Defense Lawyer: Attorney Ron Frey

Artificial intelligence has changed what a person can make with a few keystrokes: a realistic photo of someone who never posed for it, a voice that sounds just like a family member, a chatbot conversation that reads like a diary, or a software agent that logs in and acts on its own. Whether people call it AI or the early days of superintelligence, investigators nationwide are now looking at all of it.

The technology is new. The stakes are not: your freedom, your record, your job, and your name. At The Frey Law Firm, LLC, Attorney Ron Frey is a nationally recognized trial attorney who has spent over 20 years representing people accused of crimes in state and federal court, and his practice focuses on internet, social media, and computer crime cases. This section explains, in plain English, how AI-related cases tend to work. It can’t tell you where you stand. A confidential conversation can.

Call or text (813) 775-2276. Rapid response, 24/7.

“‘It depends’ is the honest answer to most legal questions, and with AI it’s truer than ever. If a website or a chatbot gives you a clear answer about your situation, be skeptical.”

Attorney Ron Frey

What kind of AI situation are you dealing with?

AI-generated images and deepfakes →
Allegations about sexual images made or changed with AI, including images involving minors, and help if someone made fake intimate images of you.

AI chats and prompts as evidence →
What you typed into a chatbot, and what it typed back, can surface in an investigation. How those records get used, and where they can be questioned.

AI fraud and voice cloning →
Cloned voices, invented identities, and AI-written scams, including people who were recruited or used without understanding the scheme.

AI agents acting on your behalf →
When software you set up logs in, sends messages, or moves money on its own, and something goes wrong.

How do AI investigations usually start?

Many people picture an AI case beginning with a knock on the door. More often it begins quietly, and the person involved may not hear about it for months. The starting point depends on the kind of case:

• Images: a technology company flags an account, or someone recognizes their own face in a fake image and reports it.
• Fraud and voice cloning: someone who lost money calls their bank or the police, or a bank notices unusual transfers.
• Chats and prompts: AI records usually come up after an investigation is already underway, when investigators want to know what a person asked, searched for, or planned.
• AI agents: a business spots automated activity on its systems that it never allowed.

From there, investigators may request records from AI companies, seek warrants for accounts and devices, or ask to “just talk.” Our post on how police get AI chats, images, and account records walks through that process. If agents have already come to your home or asked for your passwords, see What Should You Do if the Police or FBI Search Your Home? and Should I Provide My Password to the Police or FBI?

Is it a state case or a federal case?

It can be either, and sometimes both. The internet crosses state lines, and federal agencies such as the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations investigate a wide range of online conduct. Federal law already reaches many of the issues AI raises, including sexual images involving minors, intimate images shared without consent (the federal TAKE IT DOWN Act), fraud, identity theft, and unauthorized computer access.

States are moving fast too. Legislatures around the country have passed, or are considering, laws aimed at AI-made sexual images, deepfakes, and AI impersonation, and those laws don’t all say the same thing. Florida is one example. Florida readers: see our Florida site’s page on Florida AI crime laws.

Why does it matter? State and federal cases can involve different investigators, prosecutors, courts, procedures, and potential consequences. Where a case will land isn’t always clear at the start, which is one more reason to talk with a lawyer early.

Why does the technology matter to the defense?

People see AI, and the push toward superintelligence, very differently: some as a breakthrough, some as a risk. In court, AI cases are evidence cases. The government’s version of events often rests on files, account records, and logs, and any of them can be incomplete or misread. Who was really using the account or the device? Is an image real, generated, or altered, and can anyone reliably tell the difference? Does a prompt show intent, or curiosity, research, fiction, or a bad joke? Was the evidence gathered lawfully?

Attorney Frey has followed artificial intelligence and the law for years, and he was writing about it on this site back in 2016. He looks at the technology and at the people involved: what each person knew, intended, and actually did.

Never been in trouble before?

Many people caught up in AI-related investigations have no criminal history at all. They used a popular tool and now don’t know what comes next. A clean record doesn’t make an investigation less serious, but it can matter in how a case is handled. Talk with a lawyer before you decide anything.

Can Attorney Ron Frey help if I’m not in Florida?

Attorney Ron Frey is licensed in Florida, Ohio, and North Carolina. He is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States and the U.S. District Courts for the Middle and Southern Districts of Florida, the Northern and Southern Districts of Ohio, and the Eastern and Western Districts of North Carolina. Whether he can appear in a court in another state depends on that court’s rules, and that’s something we can sort out on your first call.

Latest from AI Crimes & the Law

• How Police Get Your AI Chats, Images, and Account Records
• AI Image Generators and the Law: When Prompting Crosses a Line, and When You’re the Target
• From 2016: Artificial Intelligence & Robot Lawyers?

All AI Crimes & the Law articles →

More internet crime defense

• Internet crimes overview
• Internet sex crimes
• Charges involving sexual images of minors
• Online financial crimes
• Hacking and unauthorized access

Questions About an AI Investigation? Let’s Talk.

If you would like to speak with an experienced criminal defense lawyer about an investigation or charge involving artificial intelligence, or you have further questions, don’t hesitate to contact Attorney Ron Frey. Your consultation is free and confidential. You can talk with us by phone, by video, or at our Tampa office, and when the situation calls for it, we can come to you.

Call or text (813) 775-2276. Rapid response, 24/7.
Toll-free: (844) 766-3739