Three men charged in US over AI impersonation scheme that stole more than $129 million

Three foreign nationals have been arrested and charged in the United States with using artificial intelligence to impersonate corporate chief executives and attorneys and steal more than $100 million, according to an indictment newly unsealed by the US Department of Justice.

According to a press release from the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, the three men are Jacob Soall, Sharon Hazan and Guy Sheetrit. They allegedly used AI to alter and impersonate the voices and images of executives and attorneys at various companies in order to convince employees to send large payments.

Soall and Hazan were arrested in Spain over the summer, while Sheetrit was arrested in the United Kingdom in September. According to the allegations, the fraud took place between 2024 and 2026.

According to the indictment, the men first posed as a corporate executive, targeting employees of various companies and telling them they needed help with sensitive financial transactions. The employees were then told to get in touch with lawyers at a large international law firm. The men then impersonated a lawyer at those firms and had the employees wire a large amount of money.

According to the Department of Justice, the men ultimately stole more than $129 million from companies all over the world, including in the US. They allegedly stole nearly $5 million from a hospital system headquartered in Missouri, about $2.7 million from a Rhode Island bank, about $3 million from a California hospital system, over $4.6 million from a mutual fund headquartered in Massachusetts and about $5 million from a pet food company in Florida. They also stole over $11 million from a UK technology company.

The men directed employees to wire money to bank accounts all over the world, including in the United States, Spain, Portugal, Greece, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Austria, Slovakia and China. After the money had been wired, the men converted it into cryptocurrency in an attempt to conceal the source, ownership and control of the stolen proceeds and distributed it among themselves and their co-conspirators, according to the Department of Justice press release.

Soall used the aliases “Seba Clarke” and “Rocky Balboa”, while Hazan went by “Superman Cash”, “Fat Boy” and “Ron”, according to the allegations.

In a statement, US Attorney Jamie McDonald said artificial intelligence had great potential, but the public should also recognise that some may seek to use the technology to pursue criminal goals.

James C Barnacle Jr, the FBI assistant director in charge, said in a statement that the alleged scheme orchestrated by Soall, Hazan and Sheetrit demonstrates how advanced technology can be exploited to commit large-scale fraud. He said that as criminals continue to weaponise emerging technologies, the FBI remains committed to rapidly adapting its capabilities to identify, investigate and disrupt those who seek to harm New Yorkers and businesses.

The men have been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, various counts of money-laundering conspiracy and aggravated identity theft.