Three Men Charged With Using AI to Impersonate CEOs, Steal $100M
Federal prosecutors say the trio used AI-altered voices and images of executives to trick employees into sending large payments.
Three foreign nationals have been charged with orchestrating an AI-driven fraud scheme that allegedly netted more than $100 million by impersonating corporate executives and attorneys, according to a newly unsealed federal indictment.
The US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York identified the defendants as Jacob Soall, Sharon Hazan, and Guy Sheetrit. Prosecutors allege the men used artificial intelligence tools to manipulate voices and images, convincingly posing as CEOs and lawyers at various companies to persuade employees to authorize large wire transfers.
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Soall and Hazan were taken into custody in Spain during the summer, while Sheetrit was apprehended in the United Kingdom in September. The alleged scheme spanned from 2024 into 2026, suggesting a sustained and evolving operation rather than an isolated incident.
The case underscores a rapidly escalating threat in corporate cybersecurity: so-called "deepfake" fraud in which AI-generated audio and video are deployed to bypass internal financial controls. Security experts have warned that as synthetic media tools become more accessible, executive impersonation attacks are growing in both frequency and sophistication.
The Department of Justice's move to unseal the charges signals a broader federal effort to prosecute AI-enabled financial crimes. Continue reading at Business | The Guardian.
