Feds: Trio cloned CEOs with AI to steal $129 million

Three alleged scammers turned AI into a fake-executive factory, and prosecutors say the con pulled in roughly $129 million. Jacob Soall, 41, Sharon Hazan, 54, and Guy Sheetrit, 42, were indicted in a New York federal court on wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges, with money laundering tacked on, according to CBS News. The targets? Thousands of companies scattered across the globe over more than a year and a half.

The playbook was slick. Prosecutors say the crew zeroed in on accounting departments, firing off emails that looked like they came straight from the boss, asking for help with a hush-hush financial transaction. Then came the follow-up call — sometimes video — where AI cloned the CEO's voice and occasionally their face. Victims were told to loop in an attorney at a major law firm, a role the group was happy to fill themselves.

Court documents describe Soall as the go-to fake lawyer, mostly posing as a U.K. attorney. He even kept a handwritten script titled 'Lawyer Call' to stay in character while talking marks out of their money, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. The phony attorney would green-light huge wires to bank accounts around the world, which the crew then flipped into cryptocurrency to muddy the trail before splitting the proceeds, per the indictment.

The indictment lists some heavy-hitting marks: hospital systems in Missouri and California, a bank in Rhode Island, a U.K. fintech firm, a Massachusetts mutual fund company and a Florida pet food company. All three defendants were arrested between June and September — Soall and Hazan in Spain, Sheetrit in the U.K. Extradition requests for the trio are still pending.

Hazan isn't new to the courtroom. She was convicted in a New York court back in 2008 on a charge of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. The three also reportedly go by nicknames including 'Rocky Balboa,' 'Superman Cash' and 'Fat Boy.' Lawyers for Soall and Sheetrit didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment, and it wasn't clear whether Hazan had an attorney. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York didn't immediately respond to a voicemail from The Associated Press.

FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle Jr. framed the case as a warning shot about where crime is heading, saying the bureau is committed to adapting its capabilities as criminals weaponize emerging tech. If convicted, the defendants face up to 20 years behind bars, with aggravated identity theft carrying a separate maximum of two years, according to the attorney's office.