Three men have been indicted in the United States for an alleged international fraud scheme in which they used artificial intelligence to impersonate corporate executives and legal professionals to trick employees into sending around $129 million to their accounts.
Jacob Soall, Sharon Hazan and Guy Sheetrit have been charged with pretending to be company CEOs and lawyers to convince employees that large transactions were needed. Between 2024 and 2026, the trio allegedly conspired to use AI to create fake audio and video of real people, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
They used AI to make their impersonations realistic enough to fool corporate workers.
The trio now face numerous charges including wire fraud, money laundering and aggravated identity theft. If they are found guilty, they could face a maximum sentence of 104 years in prison.
They called employees and pretended to be their company’s chief executive, with the alleged fraudsters claiming they needed urgent financial transactions to be completed and that it was confidential. They would then tell employees to contact lawyers on behalf of the company.
AI was used to create copies of the lawyers’ voices and appearances. Soall was reported to have taken on the role of impersonating lawyers and had scripts ready to mimic how they would speak.
Once they had convinced employees to approve the transactions, the money was sent through bank accounts in the United States, Europe, the United Arab Emirates and China.
The cash was then transferred into cryptocurrency.
Several organisations were allegedly scammed including a hospital in Missouri who lost almost $5 million, a bank in Rhode Island who lost $2.6 million and a hospital in California who lost $2.9 million. Other alleged victims included a technology company in the UK who lost $11.5 million, a financial company in Massachusetts who lost $4.6 million and a pet food company in Florida who lost $5.2 million.
Hazan is alleged to have managed the money laundering.
In court documents, Hazan claimed he had laundered $400 million since 1994. He was previously convicted of bank fraud in 2008.
All three suspects are currently in custody. Soall and Hazan were arrested in Spain during the summer whilst Sheetrit was detained in the United Kingdom in September. The Justice Department said they are all facing extradition requests.
The FBI has warned criminals are increasingly using new technology to commit complex financial frauds. James Barnacle, a senior FBI official, said the alleged fraud is an example of how sophisticated technology can be used to commit large-scale crime. The bureau has encouraged businesses who may have been targeted to report any suspected incidents.
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AI-Powered CEO Impersonation Scheme Allegedly Defrauded Companies of $129 Million