DOJ charges three men in $129M AI CEO impersonation scheme

Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York have unsealed charges against three foreign nationals, Jacob Soall, Sharon Hazan and Guy Sheetrit, over a scheme that prosecutors say used AI to alter and impersonate the voices and images of company chief executives and attorneys at major law firms. Posing first as a chief executive asking for help with a confidential deal, and then as the lawyers handling it, the group allegedly persuaded accounting staff to wire large sums to accounts they controlled, then converted the proceeds into cryptocurrency. Prosecutors put the total taken from companies worldwide at more than $129 million between July 2024 and February 2026, with named victims including banks, hospital systems, a UK fintech firm, a Massachusetts mutual fund and a Florida pet food company.

Soall and Hazan were arrested in Spain over the summer and Sheetrit was arrested in the United Kingdom in September, with extradition requests pending. Each defendant faces charges including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering counts. The charges are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

Sources: The Guardian, via World Right Now; AI Weekly, reporting NBC News