DOJ warns it will prosecute crimes committed using AI

U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche warned that the Department of Justice (DOJ) will investigate individuals or companies involved in artificial intelligence when there are indications that they have violated U.S. criminal laws.

"As far as A.I. is concerned, there's a lot of criminal laws. ... So if anybody associated with A.I. violates criminal law, we'll investigate that," Blanche said Tuesday while speaking to reporters at the White House, per Reuters.

The attorney general, however, drew a distinction between prosecuting crimes and regulating the development of the technology.

"We're prosecutors, not regulators," Blanche said, noting that the DOJ intends to apply the existing legal framework rather than assume general oversight functions over the artificial intelligence industry.

DOJ already has cases related to A.I.

The warning comes as U.S. authorities are already investigating and prosecuting several cases in which artificial intelligence appears to be linked to alleged financial fraud, technology-related crimes or attempts to circumvent export controls.

In April, federal prosecutors charged the founder and former chief financial officer of iLearningEngines, a company that presented itself as a provider of A.I.-powered business automation solutions, with participating in a scheme to artificially inflate its revenue through fictitious contracts.

According to the Department of Justice, the executives allegedly inflated the company's revenue by hundreds of millions of dollars to deceive investors and financial institutions. The charges include conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud.

Another priority area is the protection of U.S. technology against China.

In March, the DOJ filed charges against three individuals accused of conspiring to divert high-performance servers equipped with advanced U.S. artificial intelligence technology to Chinese territory, despite export restrictions.

Prosecutors allege that the group used false documents, intermediary companies and even fictitious servers to circumvent control mechanisms. Between late April and mid-May 2025 alone, approximately $510 million worth of servers were allegedly diverted to China as part of the alleged scheme.

In another case filed that same month, three people were charged with attempting to illegally ship American chips subject to export controls and intended for artificial intelligence applications to China, via Thailand.

Existing laws vs. New technology

The position expressed by Blanche aligns with a principle that several federal agencies have championed in recent years: that the emergence of new technology does not negate the application of existing regulations.

Authorities such as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Department of Justice and other federal agencies have maintained that laws regarding consumer protection, discrimination, fraud and other crimes remain applicable when such conduct is carried out through automated systems or artificial intelligence.

Blanche's warning also comes amid an intense debate in Washington over how far regulation should go for an industry considered strategic for the United States, especially in light of growing technological competition with China.

While the regulatory debate continues, the Department of Justice's message is more immediate: the technology may be new, but using it to commit a crime does not place those responsible beyond the reach of U.S. law.