The 3 were indicted for allegedly using AI to impersonate CEOs, lawyers
Jacob Soall, 41, Sharon Hazan, 54, and Guy Sheetrit, 42, face charges of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering, according to an indictment filed in a US District Court in New York. The alleged scheme ran for more than 18 months and targeted businesses across several countries, reported AP. Hazan was previously convicted of conspiracy to commit bank fraud in a New York court in 2008. If convicted, the defendants face a maximum sentence of 20 years on each wire fraud and money laundering charge, while aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory additional two-year sentence, according to the US attorney’s office.
The accused primarily targeted corporate accounting departments, according to court documents. They allegedly sent emails posing as company CEOs, asking employees to facilitate confidential financial transactions. The requests were followed by phone or video calls in which the defendants used AI to mimic the executives’ voices and, in some cases, their appearances. The three defendants, who are from Spain, the UK, Israel and the United Arab Emirates, were arrested between June and September.