A Central New York man learned a hard lesson this week about the limits of artificial intelligence as a tool for insurance fraud: if you’re going to use AI to fabricate evidence, maybe don’t submit a photo that the AI literally signed for you.
Brent W. Hubbard, 51, of Mallory, N.Y., reportedly contacted the Cicero Police Department with a bold proposition — pay him for damage to his car, which he claimed was caused by ice flying off a police cruiser on Route 481. Standard enough complaint, except for one small detail: the photo he submitted to prove the damage had a Meta AI watermark stamped right on it.
Yes. A Meta AI watermark. On the fake evidence. Submitted to the police.
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Cicero Police Chief Steve Rotunno confirmed that officers didn’t exactly need to dust for fingerprints on this one. A quick look at the photo raised immediate red flags, and a visit to Hubbard’s home revealed no actual damage on the car. Surveillance footage from police cameras also showed the cruiser in question didn’t have any notable ice buildup that day — so the whole story fell apart faster than a bumper held on with zip ties.
Hubbard has since admitted the report was fabricated, according to local news. He was charged with falsely reporting an incident and arrested Monday, with a court appearance scheduled for Tuesday in the Town of Cicero Court.
Chief Rotunno didn’t mince words about the whole ordeal. He called it “a huge waste of time and taxpayer money,” noting that multiple officers had to be pulled away from actual police work to investigate what amounted to a guy hoping cops wouldn’t Google their own dashcam footage.
Now, we’re not here to pile on car enthusiasts — we understand the emotional devastation of a scratch on the quarter panel. Truly. But if you’re going to fabricate photographic evidence of vehicle damage, perhaps take 30 seconds to crop out the glowing badge that says “Made with AI.” That’s just due diligence.
The case serves as yet another reminder that while artificial intelligence is genuinely remarkable technology, it is, unfortunately, not yet capable of helping you commit fraud and hide the evidence at the same time. One step at a time, we suppose.
Hubbard’s next court date is Tuesday. His car, reportedly undamaged, is doing just fine.