OMAHA — A 23-year-old Omaha, Nebraska man who used artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT to plan a bank robbery has been sentenced to 121 months (approximately 10 years) in federal prison after he robbed a bank at gunpoint and threatened two employees with death .
CDA News Nigeria gathered that Deron Lewis-Payne received 37 months for bank robbery and another 84 months for brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, with the sentences to run consecutively . He will also serve five years of supervised release after his imprisonment .
The incident occurred on February 10, 2026, when Lewis-Payne entered i3Bank in Omaha carrying a black semi-automatic handgun and demanded money from two employees. “He pointed the handgun at the tellers and told them he would kill them if they did not comply,” the Justice Department said, adding that he ordered employees to empty their cash drawers and warned them “not to include any dye packs with the cash” .
Investigators later used surveillance footage and residential cameras to identify the suspect and his vehicle . A search of his phone revealed that he had used ChatGPT to plan the robbery, with queries including advice on “law enforcement response times,” how to “strip and repair a Llama Mini-Max .45 handgun,” and how to obtain ammunition despite being a felon . His Google Maps history also showed he had searched for directions to the bank he robbed .
The case follows similar incidents, including a New Jersey man who used ChatGPT to plan a 2024 attack on the presidential suite at a Las Vegas hotel .
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