Three men have been charged in the United States over an alleged scheme that used artificial intelligence to impersonate company chief executives and lawyers and trick businesses into wiring away about $129 million.

Federal prosecutors in New York announced the charges on Thursday 5 November. Jacob Soall, 41, Sharon Hazan, 54, and Guy Sheetrit, 42, are accused of targeting thousands of companies around the world between July 2024 and February 2026.

According to the indictment, the group posed as a company's chief executive, using AI to mimic the executive's voice and sometimes their image on phone and video calls, and asked staff to help with a supposedly confidential deal. They also impersonated lawyers at major law firms to add credibility to the requests. Employees were then talked into sending large wire transfers to accounts controlled by the group.

Named losses in the indictment include almost $11.6 million from a UK-based financial technology company, $5.2 million from a Florida pet food company, $4.8 million from a Missouri hospital system, $4.6 million from a Massachusetts mutual fund company, nearly $3 million from a California hospital system, and $2.7 million from a Rhode Island bank.

The three men were arrested between June and September 2026 in Spain and the United Kingdom, and the US is seeking their extradition. They face seven counts, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering, carrying a combined maximum sentence of 104 years in prison.

These are allegations and the defendants have not been convicted. The FBI has asked anyone who believes they were targeted to contact the bureau through its online tips page.

[Source: webcenters.netscape.compuserve.com](https://webcenters.netscape.compuserve.com/news/story/0001/20261106/c348a0c96e941214e56f8d923d03fc4b) | [Source: iclg.com](https://iclg.com/news/justice-department-cracks-ai-impersonation-fraud-scheme/)