ATLANTA — A man has been arraigned on federal cyberstalking charges after allegedly carrying out a months-long online harassment campaign that included fake social media accounts, racist messages and AI-generated nude images targeting a college student in Georgia.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
Anthony Belford, 21, of New York, appeared in federal court on June 10 following a federal grand jury indictment returned June 16, charging him with one count of cyberstalking.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, Belford allegedly used spoofed social media and email accounts between January and March 2025 to harass, intimidate, and cause substantial emotional distress to the victim.
Prosecutors allege Belford:
- created fake social media and email accounts to target a Georgia college student
- posted racist and derogatory messages within the victim’s community
- spread false claims portraying the victim as racist
- impersonated the victim in messages sent to student groups
- distributed AI-generated nude images of the victim online
- used additional spoofed accounts to amplify and spread the content across platforms
Officials say Belford also allegedly used fake accounts on online forums to direct others to the content he had created and circulated.
TRENDING STORIES:
- Constant smell of marijuana leads to takedown of Chinese nationals running Georgia drug ring
- Man found dead under tour bus in DeKalb County
- 2 dead after massive tree falls on moving pickup truck in east Georgia
“Belford allegedly waged a lengthy online campaign, hiding behind spoofed social media and email accounts to harass, intimidate, and cause substantial distress to his victim,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. “Cyberstalking and other forms of online abuse, just like physical violence, can ruin lives and disrupt communities.”
“The alleged use of AI-generated images and fake online accounts to harass and intimidate a victim shows that digital abuse can have very real consequences,” said Marlo Graham, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “The FBI will continue working with our law enforcement partners to identify offenders and hold them accountable.”
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]