3, including 2 Israelis, charged in US in scheme to use AI to impersonate CEOs and attorneys to steal $129 million

By AP Today, 7:56 am

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Three people accused of using artificial intelligence to impersonate corporate executives and attorneys to steal about $129 million have been indicted on charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, US prosecutors say.

Over more than a year and a half, Jacob Soall, 41, Sharon Hazan, 54, and Guy Sheetrit, 42 — the latter two of whom are Israeli — targeted thousands of companies across the world in their AI scheme, according to the indictment filed in a US District Court in New York.

Their victims included hospital systems in Missouri and California, a bank in Rhode Island, a financial technology company in the United Kingdom, a mutual fund company in Massachusetts and a pet food company in Florida, according to court documents.

The defendants, from Spain, the UK, Israel and the United Arab Emirates, have also been charged with money laundering, according to the indictment.

Lawyers for Soall and Sheetrit did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment. It is not clear whether Hazan has an attorney. The US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York also did not immediately respond to a voicemail The Associated Press left.

The three were arrested between June and September. In 2008, Hazan was convicted in a New York court of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, according to the US Attorney’s Office.

The trio, who have nicknames that include “Rocky Balboa,” “Superman Cash,” and “Fat Boy,” often targeted the companies’ accounting departments. They would send an email purporting to be from the CEO and ask for help with a confidential financial transaction, according to court documents.

They would also coordinate a phone or video call where the defendants used AI to mimic the voice and sometimes the image of the CEO, according to the indictment.

The defendants would then tell them to contact an attorney at a major law firm, whom the group was also ready to impersonate, according to court documents.