Three charged over AI impersonation scheme that stole about $129 million from firms
The case shows criminals are using voice and video cloning to target finance departments directly, with thousands of companies exposed.
Federal prosecutors in New York have indicted three people for allegedly using AI-generated voice and video to pose as chief executives and lawyers, defrauding companies of roughly $129 million. The suspects, Jacob Soall, Sharon Hazan and Guy Sheetrit, reportedly targeted thousands of firms worldwide over more than a year and a half, mostly by sending emails in a CEO's name to accounting staff and then following up on calls where the voice was mimicked. Victims named in court documents include hospital systems in Missouri and California, a Rhode Island bank, a UK fintech, a Massachusetts mutual fund company and a Florida pet food maker. The defendants face wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering charges, with the stolen money reportedly converted into cryptocurrency to obscure its origin. The three were arrested between June and September, and the case shows how the voice-cloning and deepfake tools available to criminals are being used against finance departments directly.
Why it matters
The scheme worked by pairing emails that claimed to come from a chief executive with calls in which AI copied that executive's voice, and sometimes image, to approve a supposedly confidential transaction. That turns a convincing fake into a live conversation, which is harder for staff to question than an email alone. Because the suspects reached thousands of companies worldwide over more than a year and a half, the risk is not limited to a few large targets. Finance staff are the people the scheme was built to deceive, so verification of unusual payment requests now matters as much as the sender's apparent identity.
Matters or hype?
Does this story matter, or is it hype? Vote before you see what everyone else said.