A voice that sounded like the CEO and lawyers who supposedly took part in a confidential deal: this is how an international network allegedly tricked employees at several companies into transferring money to accounts controlled by the group. The U.S. federal prosecutors accuse three people of a fraud that, according to the indictment, exceeded $129 million and used artificial intelligence to imitate voices and images.
Jacob Soall, Sharon Hazan, and Guy Sheetrit were charged for their alleged involvement in a scheme that ran from July 2024 to February 2026. The indictment was filed in the Southern District of New York. The three were arrested in different countries during 2026: Soall and Hazan in Spain, and Sheetrit in the United Kingdom.
A confidential deal as bait
According to prosecutors, the scheme began with an approach to employees at various companies, usually in accounting departments. The perpetrators told them they needed help with a confidential financial transaction and used artificial intelligence to imitate the company CEO’s voice.
Then, the person posing as the CEO told the employee to contact lawyers at major international firms. Those supposed lawyers were also part of the scheme, according to prosecutors. The next step was to request that large sums of money be sent to bank accounts set up in different parts of the world.
Prosecutors say that, once the transfers were completed, the group converted the money into cryptocurrency. Prosecutors said it did so «in an attempt to conceal the source, ownership, and control of the stolen proceeds and distribute it amongst themselves and their co-conspirators»: to try to conceal the source, ownership, and control of the stolen funds, and distribute them among the participants and their accomplices.
The indictment alleges that the group used AI to imitate both the voices and images of executives and lawyers. The information released does not specify which tools they used or how they generated each imitation.
Hospitals, banks, and companies among the victims
The list of affected entities described by prosecutors spans several sectors and regions. It includes a New York investment bank, a Missouri hospital system, a Rhode Island bank, and another hospital system, this one in California.
Also listed are a UK financial technology company, a Massachusetts mutual fund company, and a Florida pet food company. Prosecutors put the total allegedly stolen from companies around the world at more than $129 million.
The investigation does not portray the fraud as an isolated impersonation: the deception combined a voice attributed to the top executive with a chain of supposed professional contacts and a transfer request. In prosecutors’ account, employees received instructions that appeared to be part of a legitimate corporate transaction, but the destination accounts were controlled by the group.
Arrests in Spain and the United Kingdom
Soall, who also allegedly used the names “Rocky Balboa” and “Seba Clarke,” was arrested in Spain in June. According to prosecutors, he is from Spain and the United Kingdom, and posed as British lawyers. He used a script titled “Lawyer Call” to make his calls to victims seem credible.
Hazan, arrested in Spain in August, allegedly used the aliases “Superman Cash,” “Impossible Mission,” “Fat Boy,” and “Ron.” He is from Israel and, according to the indictment, was responsible for laundering the money obtained through the scheme.
Prosecutors say Hazan boasted about his experience in the field: he claimed he had been laundering money since 1994, had laundered more than $400 million in the previous three years alone, and was “number one all over the world” among money launderers. Prosecutors also noted that Hazan was convicted of conspiracy to commit bank fraud in the Southern District of New York in 2008.
Sheetrit was arrested in the United Kingdom in September. According to prosecutors, he is from Israel and the United Arab Emirates and is also accused of laundering funds linked to the scheme.
Seven charges for each defendant
The three face charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, two counts of aggravated identity theft, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and two counts of money laundering. Prosecutors state that each of the seven charges carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The charges describe allegations, not a determination of guilt. The information released does not specify when the defendants will appear in court or what the trial schedule will be.
U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald linked the case to the risks of using technological development to commit crimes. In his statement, he used “SI,” an abbreviation for superintelligence, a term that, according to the press release, is the White House’s preferred way to refer to artificial intelligence.
“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.”
— Jamie McDonald, U.S. Attorney
McDonald encouraged individuals and companies to consider how to protect themselves against crimes enabled by this technology. The indictment places the alleged scheme between July 2024 and February 2026 and maintains that all three took part in it.
Source: NBC News
