Shanghai man uses AI to fake hospital records for restaurant blackmail, gets sentenced

A court in Shanghai's Yangpu district recently sentenced a man for using AI to commit extortion. Yang used AI software to fake hospital records, medical bills, and complaint documents. He claimed he got sick after eating at restaurants and demanded compensation. He made 2500 yuan illegally. The court gave him four months in prison, suspended for four months, and a 2000 yuan fine.

Yang saw online how others got money using fake "acute gastroenteritis" diagnosis papers. He copied the method. He faked medical records and invoices, then filed complaints to government hotlines and market regulators to pressure restaurants into paying. He succeeded first in November last year. Within a month, he targeted four more restaurants, asking for more money each time.

Restaurant surveillance showed Yang eating normally, and other customers reported no issues. Police found problems in the faked documents: one said "bacterial infection from undercooked beef," which a real doctor wouldn't write. The fake invoice was a tax bill, not a hospital one. The hospital confirmed Yang never visited. He confessed to the crime.