A Pennsylvania man involved in a lengthy court battle with a Montgomery County town is accused of making false claims against a town official and a police officer and posting fake AI-altered images of the victims and their families dressed up as Ku Klux Klan members. Scott Testa, 60, of Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania, was arrested and charged by indictment with two counts of cyberstalking. According to the indictment, in 2018, police began responding to calls reporting rental disputes at two properties Testa owned in Whitpain Township in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. In 2019, Testa began to receive township code violation notices for those properties, including allegations that they were illegally converted into multi-family dwellings. Then in September 2024, Testa reported to Whitpain Township that two people broke into one of his rental properties and stole jewelry from the attic. While Whitpain Township police ultimately determined the reported jewelry theft was unfounded, two people were still charged with harassment and disorderly conduct in connection to the alleged break-in. After the incident, Testa began sending emails and letters to Whitpain Township Police and officials, criticizing how the police department handled the investigation, according to the indictment. Then in December 2024, Whitpain Township filed a complaint and petition for a preliminary injunction in the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas seeking a court order directing Testa to correct his township code violations in connection to his rental properties. A judge then granted that petition in January 2025. That same month, Testa created a website publicizing his views towards Whitpain Township police and officials, according to the indictment. He also filed a counterclaim against the injunction, the Whitpain Township police chief and a Whitpain Township police officer, claiming the town was targeting him because he was “in an interracial relationship,” according to the indictment. The legal battle between Whitpain Township and Testa continued until Feb. 20, 2025, when a United States District Court judge remanded the case back to the Court of Common Pleas. Officials said Testa never filed an amended complaint. Despite this, through 2025 into 2026, Testa falsely claimed through emails, websites and podcasts that there was a pending federal civil rights lawsuit against Whitpain Township, according to the indictment. Testa also continued to publicly criticize Whitpain Township and Whitpain Township Police while claiming the town was run by racists, officials said. Then on April 28, 2026, Testa posted on Reddit an AI-altered image depicting the Whitpain Township police officer he had previously criticized wearing a white Ku Klux Klan robe with the name of his current employer in the background, investigators said. In the post, Testa claimed the officer had been fired, had numerous allegations against minorities and the disabled and was the subject of a federal civil rights lawsuit, according to the indictment. Investigators said Testa knew all of these claims were false when he made the post. Testa also emailed over 50 staff members at the officer’s current job, falsely claiming the officer was a defendant in a pending civil rights lawsuit, investigators said. Testa also allegedly made several posts with pictures of the officer’s coworkers with their contact information. In those posts, Testa created fake quotes from officials at the officer’s job. Those quotes included the following, according to the indictment: “If we had had the old high school, we could have definitely prevented those gosh darn handicapped people from coming to school, but the blacks can climb!” “When [the officer] interviewed for his new job protecting our white kids, he really reminded me of someone, but I was not sure…Then I rewatched Valkerie and pulled out my signed version of Mein Kampf!” Testa also named the officer’s children, posted his address, and falsely accused the officer of beating up a handicapped child in multiple Reddit posts, investigators said. Testa also allegedly posted on Reddit an AI-altered image of a Whitpain Township official and his family, including his children, with their faces exposed that depicted them all dressed up in Ku Klux Klan robes. Investigators also said Testa posted messages directed at the official which read, “We are watching you,” “We are coming,” and “This does not get erased; it’s forever. Your career and your family’s future is going to be pockmarked with you cowards…we are going to run you out of town.” On Tuesday, Sept. 8, Testa appeared in federal court for a hearing. A U.S. Magistrate judge ordered for him to be detained in federal custody pending trial. NBC10 reached out to Testa’s lawyer for comment. We will include a response once we receive one. Dennis McAndrews, a former federal prosecutor not affiliated with the case, told NBC10 that using AI to mock someone isn’t a crime but can enter illegal territory when it’s being used to intimidate or threaten someone. “When it becomes so intrusive and so intimidating, harmful, and places someone in fear for either their lives, their property, their reputation, then it becomes criminal,” McAndrews said. “The warning for the public is that the use of AI to generate images which are false and harmful to people places civil liability. And then when it raises to the level of placing them in fear for their safety or the safety of their families, it is likely criminal both on the state and federal level.” ...read more read less