A Commerce Township man pleaded guilty Tuesday to cyberstalking after using artificial intelligence to create pornographic images of a social media influencer and threatening to release them publicly. Joshua Stilman, 37, faces up to five years in prison when sentenced May 21.
According to federal court documents, Stilman created AI-generated nude images of an Oregon woman with nearly 100,000 Instagram followers between February and March 2025. Using the screenname FriendBlender, he threatened to publish the images if she refused to respond to his sexual advances and made threats implying he would sexually assault her.
Stilman sent the victim a link to a Google Drive collection containing the AI-generated images, but the link displayed his real name in association with the Google account. When the victim asked whether his wife knew about the messages, Stilman blocked her on Instagram and deleted the photo album and his LinkedIn page.
The victim, a content creator and photographer, initially discovered what appeared to be nude photos of herself in her direct messages but realized they were AI-generated. She and her followers helped track down Stilman’s identity, leading to his arrest.
Federal prosecutors agreed to dismiss an interstate extortion charge in exchange for Stilman’s guilty plea on the cyberstalking count. Jennifer Runyan, special agent in charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office, called the case an example of how artificial intelligence can be weaponized for harassment.
“Hiding behind a keyboard to intimidate and harass another person is an act of cowardice, and today’s outcome demonstrates that such behavior will be met with full accountability,” Runyan said in a statement.
