Three men charged in US for AI-driven CEO impersonation fraud

The US Department of Justice has unsealed an indictment charging three foreign nationals with using artificial intelligence to mimic corporate CEOs and lawyers in order to steal more than $100 million. Jacob Soall, Sharon Hazan and Guy Sheetrit were taken into custody – Soall and Hazan in Spain during the summer, and Sheetrit in the United Kingdom in September – according to a press release from the US attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York.

The scheme, which prosecutors say ran from 2024 to 2026, involved the trio creating fake voice and video recordings of senior executives and attorneys to persuade staff at various firms to move large sums of money. Victims were told to contact lawyers at a major international law firm, after which the impostors pretended to be those lawyers and instructed the employees to wire funds. The operation allegedly netted more than $129 million from organisations worldwide, including roughly $5 million from a Missouri‑based hospital system, $2.7 million from a Rhode Island bank, about $3 million from a California health network, over $4.6 million from a Massachusetts mutual fund and about $5 million from a Florida pet‑food company, as well as more than $11 million from a UK technology firm.

Payments were directed to bank accounts across numerous jurisdictions such as the United States, Spain, Portugal, Greece, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Austria, Slovakia and China. After receipt, the proceeds were converted into cryptocurrency to mask their origin, ownership and control before being divided among the conspirators, the DOJ said. Soall and Hazan were known to use a number of aliases, including “Seba Clarke”, “Rocky Balboa”, “Superman Cash”, “Fat Boy” and “Ron”.

In a statement, Jamie McDonald, a US attorney, warned that while artificial intelligence offers significant benefits, the public must be aware that some individuals may exploit the technology for criminal purposes. “The alleged scheme orchestrated by Soall, Hazan, and Sheetrit demonstrates how the use of advanced technology can be exploited to commit large‑scale fraud,” said James C Barnacle Jr, the FBI assistant director in charge, in a statement.

The three defendants now face charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, multiple counts of money‑laundering conspiracy and aggravated identity theft.