Three individuals have been charged with employing artificial intelligence to impersonate corporate executives and attorneys, leading to a massive fraud scheme that swindled approximately $129 million from various companies worldwide. Jacob Soall, Sharon Hazan, and Guy Sheetrit, who hail from Spain, the UK, Israel, and the UAE, face charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft as detailed in an indictment by the U.S. District Court in New York. Over a period of more than 18 months, the trio targeted thousands of companies, including hospital systems in Missouri and California, a Rhode Island bank, a fintech firm in the UK, a Massachusetts mutual fund company, and a Florida pet food company.
According to court documents, the accused used AI to mimic the voices and images of CEOs in email and video communications. They directed company employees to liaise with impersonated attorneys, who instructed them to transfer large sums of money to international bank accounts. These funds were then converted into cryptocurrency to obscure their origins and distributed among the perpetrators and their accomplices. The indictment also notes that Soall used a handwritten script to enhance his impersonations of UK attorneys.
The FBI highlighted this case as an example of criminals exploiting advanced technologies for large-scale fraud. Assistant Director James C. Barnacle, Jr. emphasized the agency's commitment to adapting its investigative capabilities to combat such emerging threats. If found guilty, the defendants face a maximum sentence of 20 years for each charge, except for aggravated identity theft, which carries a two-year maximum sentence.
