Two Elyria employees charged after false AI-generated robbery report

ELYRIA, Ohio (WOIO) - The Elyria Police Department received a call reporting an active robbery at Rubin’s Deli Monday morning.

Located at 312 Chestnut Commons Dr., the caller relayed information provided by an employee that the robbery that was underway involved multiple masked suspects.

Officers were dispatched via “alert tone” in reference to the owner, stating the business was currently being robbed by three subjects in black ski masks and that he was watching it on the camera.

Given the seriousness of the report and potential danger to the public, Elyria police said all available officers and detectives responded immediately.

Officers arrived within minutes and swiftly secured the area.

Police said when they arrived, they did not observe anything out of the ordinary in the parking lot, or through the front windows of the business.

There were still customers eating at their tables and inside did not appear distressed.

Due to this, police say they entered the business and located a woman employee and asked what was going on, in which the woman advised that nothing of that narrative was going on.

Background investigation revealed that the report was completely false and was fabricated by two employees of the restaurant as part of a prank.

Police said further investigation determined the hoax involved the use of artificial intelligence-generated (AI) content to enhance the credibility of the fake situation.

Elyria police said this reflects a disturbing trend on social media platforms where individuals, more specifically youth, use AI tools to simulate emergency situations as part of a prank to target co-workers, family or friends.

The two employees responsible were identified as Todd Durst, 45, and Luis Acevedo Jr., 40.

Acevedo Jr., was observed in the office looking at the cameras on screen.

He then exited the office and reported there were no injuries and a total of three employees were working.

Officers said it should be noted that Acevedo Jr. did not report his involvement in the incident yet at that time, and he then walked away from police into the cooler.

Durst said he created a photo that was generated using ChatGPT sent it to Acevedo Jr. who then sent the photo to the owner, who then contacted the police believing the store was being robbed.

Durst remained at the scene and was taken into custody without incident and was charged with the following:

• Swatting, a Felony of the 4th Degree
• Obstructing Official Business, a Felony of the 4th Degree
• Inducing Panic, Misdemeanor of the 1st Degree

Durst was taken to the Lorain County Jail, where he remains in custody pending his initial court appearance.

The owner of the business showed the officers the photo he received, which appeared to be a photo of the camera system in a multicamera view.

The largest part of the screen showed the front desk of the store with two or three employees standing behind the counter and three masked subjects standing on the other side of the counter.

Police said the hoax photo showed the masked subjects wearing blue gloves, and this photo was uploaded into evidence.

Acevedo Jr. ran from the scene prior to officers arriving, and arrest warrants have been issued for him on the same charges.

His vehicle remained on scene, police said but it is believed he left the area while officers were speaking with employees.

The Elyria Police Department said this incident is a warning of AI-generated hoaxes and social media prank trends involving fabricated emergency situations.

The false reports can divert critical resources away from real emergencies, may endanger lives and undermine public safety.

Police said anyone involved in this kind of behavior violates state law and will be arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent.

Efforts to locate Acevedo Jr. are ongoing at this time.