NEW YORK — Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have charged three foreign nationals with running a scheme that allegedly used artificial intelligence to mimic the voices and images of corporate executives and lawyers, tricking company employees into wiring about $129 million to accounts the group controlled.
An indictment unsealed in the Southern District of New York charges Jacob Soall, 41, of Marbella, Spain, and the United Kingdom; Sharon Hazan, 54, of Israel; and Guy Sheetrit, 42, of Israel and the United Arab Emirates, according to a Nov. 5 announcement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Soall and Hazan were arrested in Spain in June and August, and Sheetrit was arrested in the United Kingdom in September, prosecutors said. Extradition requests for all three are pending.
According to the indictment, between 2024 and 2026 the defendants and others used what prosecutors called “super intelligence” technology to impersonate chief executives at numerous companies, as well as attorneys at major law firms. Employees were allegedly told their help was needed on a confidential transaction, then steered to phony international lawyers who directed them to wire money.
Prosecutors said the alleged victims included a Missouri hospital system that lost $4,829,580, a Rhode Island bank that lost $2,684,580, a California hospital system that lost $2,968,497, a Massachusetts mutual fund company that lost $4,639,918, a Florida pet food company that lost $5,242,747 and a British financial technology company that lost $11,578,474.
The money was sent to accounts in the United States, Spain, Portugal, Greece, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Austria, Slovakia and China and converted to cryptocurrency, according to the government. Prosecutors allege Soall posed as British attorneys using a handwritten script titled “Lawyer Call,” while Hazan and Sheetrit laundered the proceeds.
“SI technology offers tremendous potential. But the public should recognize that there are some who seek to use this emerging technology to pursue criminal goals,” U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald said.
Each defendant faces counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, money laundering conspiracy and money laundering. The most serious counts carry a maximum of 20 years in prison. The charges are accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
The FBI’s New York Field Office investigated the case with help from Spain’s National Police and Britain’s National Crime Agency. Security technologist Bruce Schneier drew attention to the case on his blog.
This report is based on information from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York
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