Add lease forgery to the list of ChatGPT’s many skills.
That’s the claim out of Lewis County, where a Centralia woman faces allegations she used the AI chatbot to generate a phony lease in order to prove valid residency.
Danielle R. Brown, 43, is charged with one count each of second-degree identity theft and forgery, both Class C felonies punishable by up to five years in prison.
Brown made a preliminary appearance in Lewis County Superior Court on Tuesday, where she was released on a $20,000 unsecured bond, meaning she won’t have to pay unless she fails to appear at future court dates or violates her conditions of release.
Those conditions include an order for her not to return to the residence.
Before the judge's ruling, Senior Deputy Prosecutor Scott Jackson requested a bail of $20,000 cash or surety, saying he had prosecuted Brown for previous crimes that, while not similar in nature, did involve “more complex fraud than just taking something.”
“And here she is back again, allegedly forging the leasehold and preventing the owners from taking possession of the property,” Jackson said.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Brown has been convicted of second-degree theft, first-degree theft, second-degree identity theft and fourth-degree assault, among other crimes.
Rachael Tiller, Brown’s attorney for the day, argued for an unsecured bond, citing Brown’s financial status and local residency. She added that Brown’s last FTA — or failure to appear in court — was nearly two decades ago.
Tiller also noted the presence of Brown’s family members in the courtroom, which she said demonstrated support and the ability to return to future hearings.
According to the affidavit, the residence in question had recently been acquired by an investment group. But when the group went to inspect what they thought was a vacant property off Centralia Alpha Road, they instead discovered Brown living on the premises.
The group contacted the former owner, who said he had “allowed Brown to stay at the residence once and she had left the property,” according to the affidavit.
He added he had never entered into a rental agreement with Brown.
So the group went back to post an inspection notice, only to find Brown still at the property.
Prosecutors allege that Brown didn’t just occupy the property; she even sent a lease agreement to the investment group’s lawyer that contained the former owner’s signature. The problem was that the signature didn’t match the one written on the documents of sale.
The lease also appeared to be generated by ChatGPT, according to the affidavit.
Speaking to a Lewis County sheriff’s deputy, the former owner reportedly confirmed his signature had been forged and said he wanted to press charges.
After making an earlier attempt to contact the suspect at the residence, the deputy returned on Feb. 9 and spoke with Brown. Brown allegedly maintained she had signed the lease agreement and told the deputy the investment group had harassed her about it.
According to the affidavit, Brown also claimed she had hired a lawyer. But when the deputy placed her under arrest for forgery, she reportedly panicked, and alleged that the former owner had perpetrated a number of crimes — though she later said she had never reported them.
Brown was booked into the Lewis County Jail at about 11:32 a.m. Feb. 9, where she remained until her release the following day.
She is scheduled to appear for an arraignment on Feb. 12.
