NEW YORK CITY — Jonathan Rinaldi was arrested outside his home on Wednesday and charged with forgery in connection with allegations he used artificial intelligence to generate fake political endorsements and news articles on social media during his 2025-2026 election campaigns. Rinaldi, 47, faces up to two years in prison if convicted of violating New York laws against third-degree forgery and possession of forged instruments.

Prosecutors allege Rinaldi posted a fake endorsement from the Queens Jewish Alliance on Facebook and Instagram, using the organization's authentic logo and a legitimate-looking endorsement sheet. The Queens district attorney also stated that Rinaldi fabricated a New York Post story claiming then-Council Member Robert Holden had endorsed him, accompanied by a doctored photo appearing to show Holden shaking Rinaldi's hand. The charges indicate Rinaldi allegedly prompted an AI platform to generate the image with commands such as "face swap the man on the left" and "just change the face the head is ok they are both bald just change the face."

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said, "In today’s world it is important to hold people accountable for materially misrepresenting facts." She added, "As alleged, the defendant used AI to replace factual political support and launched fabricated attacks against his opponent as fact in a deliberate effort to mislead voters ahead of a City Council election." The district attorney's complaint further alleges Rinaldi used AI to generate doctored photos of his Democratic opponent, Lynn Schulman, wearing a shirt that read "Hot Girls for Zohran." Rinaldi is also accused of posting AI-generated videos that appeared to show endorsements from a police precinct and an elementary school; police precincts and elementary schools are public institutions that do not allow political endorsements.

Rinaldi ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for a New York City Council seat from Queens in 2025. He was on the ballot in the Democratic primary for state Assembly on Tuesday, where he lost to incumbent Andrew Hevesi. Hevesi accused Rinaldi of fraudulently submitting documents to alter his party registration during the campaign, after which Hevesi subsequently changed his party registration back.

A New York law adopted in 2024 requires disclosures of deepfakes in campaign materials and allows candidates targeted by deepfakes to pursue legal action to block their dissemination. Under New York law, third-degree forgery occurs when a person falsely makes, completes, or alters a written instrument—defined as written or printed matter, including online writings, conveying information—with the intent to defraud, deceive, or injure another.