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Federal prosecutors in New York announced on November 5 that three men have been arrested and charged over a scheme that used artificial intelligence to impersonate chief executives and lawyers, allegedly stealing more than $129 million from companies between 2024 and 2026. The Justice Department release names Jacob Soall, 41, Sharon Hazan, 54, and Guy Sheetrit, 42.
Prosecutors say the group typically posed as a company's CEO and told an employee they needed help with a confidential transaction. The technology copied the executive's voice or image. The employee was then directed to contact lawyers at large international firms, who were also impersonated by co-conspirators, and told to wire money to accounts the group controlled.
According to the release, Soall mainly played UK attorneys and worked from a handwritten script titled "Lawyer Call." The script included language meant to discourage employees from discussing the calls with colleagues.
The stolen money was converted to cryptocurrency and divided among the participants, prosecutors allege. Hazan and Sheetrit are accused of laundering the proceeds through accounts in the United States, Spain, Portugal, Greece, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Austria, Slovakia and China. Hazan was convicted in the same district in 2008 of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
The release itemizes six victims: a Missouri hospital system ($4.8 million), a Rhode Island bank ($2.7 million), a California hospital system ($3 million), a UK-headquartered financial technology company ($11.6 million), a Massachusetts mutual fund company ($4.6 million) and a Florida pet food company ($5.2 million). Those six losses add up to about $31.9 million. The release does not itemize the rest of the $129 million.
Spanish national police arrested Soall on June 17 and Hazan on August 5. The UK National Crime Agency arrested Sheetrit on September 7. All three face seven counts, including wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering. The wire fraud and laundering counts each carry a maximum of 20 years, and the identity theft counts carry a maximum of two. Extradition requests to the United States are pending for all three. The charges are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent.
FBI New York Assistant Director in Charge James Barnacle said the bureau "remains committed to rapidly adapting our capabilities." The Record reported that the FBI has asked other possible victims to come forward.
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