Three men accused of stealing more than $129m through AI impersonation arrested in Spain and UK

Charges include wire-fraud conspiracy, money-laundering conspiracy and aggravated identity theft

Jacob Soall and Sharon Hazan were arrested in Spain over the summer, and Guy Sheetrit was arrested in the United Kingdom in September, according to a press release from the US attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York. The three foreign nationals are charged with using artificial intelligence to alter and impersonate the voices and images of executives and attorneys at various companies in order to convince employees to send large payments, according to an indictment newly unsealed by the US Department of Justice. The alleged fraud took place between 2024 and 2026.

With the help of AI, the men allegedly acted as a corporate executive, targeting employees of various companies and telling them their help was needed with sensitive financial transactions, according to prosecutors. The employees were then instructed to get in touch with lawyers at a large international law firm, where the men impersonated a lawyer and had the employees wire a large amount of money.

The Justice Department says the men stole more than $129 million from companies all over the world, including in the US. Prosecutors allege the proceeds included nearly $5 million from a hospital system headquartered in Missouri, about $2.7 million from a Rhode Island bank, about $3 million from a California hospital system, more than $4.6 million from a mutual fund headquartered in Massachusetts and about $5 million from a pet food company in Florida. Prosecutors also allege the men stole more than $11 million from a UK tech company.

The men directed employees to wire money to bank accounts around the world, including in the United States, Spain, Portugal, Greece, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Austria, Slovakia and China, according to the release. After the money had been wired, the men converted it into cryptocurrency “in an attempt to conceal the source, ownership, and control of the stolen proceeds and distributed it amongst themselves and their co-conspirators”, the Justice Department said.

According to the Justice Department, Soall went by several aliases, including “Seba Clarke” and “Rocky Balboa”, while Hazan used the names “Superman Cash”, “Fat Boy” and “Ron”.

The men have been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, various counts of money-laundering conspiracy and aggravated identity theft.

In a statement, Jamie McDonald, a US attorney, said artificial intelligence had great potential but that the public should recognize that some may seek to use the technology to pursue criminal goals.

“The alleged scheme orchestrated by Soall, Hazan, and Sheetrit demonstrates how the use of advanced technology can be exploited to commit large-scale fraud,” said James C Barnacle Jr, the FBI assistant director in charge, in a statement. “As criminals continue to weaponize emerging technologies, the FBI remains committed to rapidly adapting our capabilities to identify, investigate, and disrupt those who seek to harm New Yorkers and businesses operating in our communities.”