They Cloned CEOs' Voices and Faked Lawyers to Steal $129 Million, Feds Say
Federal prosecutors say three men ran an 18-month scheme using AI-cloned executive voices and phony attorneys to trick finance staff at hospitals, banks and other companies into wiring away more than $129 million.
NEW YORK — Three men were indicted in Manhattan federal court this week on charges they used artificial intelligence to impersonate corporate executives and attorneys in a scheme prosecutors say stole more than $129 million from companies across the country, according to CBS News.
Jacob Soall, 41, Sharon Hazan, 54, and Guy Sheetrit, 42 — described by prosecutors as nationals of Spain, the United Kingdom, Israel and the United Arab Emirates — each face seven counts, including wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, plus related money-laundering charges, per the South China Morning Post. The indictment was unsealed in the Southern District of New York on Wednesday.
How the scheme worked
Prosecutors allege the trio cloned executives' voices — and in some cases their images — using AI tools, then called finance or accounting staff posing as the company's CEO on an urgent, confidential matter. Victims were directed to "attorneys" at supposed major law firms who were, in reality, also part of the scheme, coordinating the wire transfers to accounts set up around the world.
HE HAD BEEN LAUNDERING MONEY SINCE 1994, AND HAD LAUNDERED OVER $400 MILLION IN THE PAST THREE YEARS ALONE
That boast, which prosecutors attribute to Hazan, points to a laundering operation prosecutors say long predates this scheme; Hazan also has a prior 2008 conviction tied to bank fraud conspiracy, according to the SCMP report.
Prosecutors say the scheme ran for roughly 18 months and targeted thousands of companies, with disclosed victims including hospital systems in Missouri and California, a bank in Rhode Island, a financial technology firm in the United Kingdom, a Massachusetts mutual fund company and a Florida pet food company.
What's next
All three defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty, and none has entered a plea as of publication. The case lands amid a wave of AI-enabled executive-impersonation fraud that has hit companies worldwide — from a $25 million deepfake video-call scam against engineering firm Arup to tens of millions more lost to voice-cloned bank officials — and is among the largest such schemes U.S. prosecutors have charged to date.
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