Newshot AI Impersonates Executives and Lawyers: Three Charged in $129 Million Fraud
U.S. prosecutors have charged three men with using AI to fake the voices and images of corporate executives and lawyers between 2024 and 2026, inducing employees in two steps to transfer funds, then converting the proceeds into cryptocurrency and moving them; the total amount involved exceeds $129 million, and the case is still pending in court.
- Prosecutors allege the amount involved exceeds $129 million
- The fraud activity lasted from 2024 to 2026
- The three are charged with wire fraud, money laundering, and aggravated identity theft
- The proceeds are said to have been converted into cryptocurrency
When corporate employees receive an urgent message claiming to be from the CEO or a lawyer, saying there is a “sensitive transaction” that cannot be disclosed and that requires immediate transfer of funds, a glance at the profile picture or a familiar voice may no longer be enough to tell whether it is real. U.S. prosecutors allege that three men used AI to fake the voices and images of executives and lawyers, inducing companies around the world to pay in two steps, with more than $129 million involved; this also means that when faced with high-pressure demands for large transfers, another channel must be used to verify.
First a fake executive, then a fake lawyer
A cross-company fraud using AI-faked voices and images targeted employees with the authority to handle large corporate payments.
The indictment announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York names three men: Jacob Saul, Sharon Hazan, and Guy 谢特里特. Prosecutors say they used AI (technology that uses machines to generate or alter voices and images) to impersonate corporate executives and lawyers, tricking multiple companies around the world into sending large sums, with the total being the figure given in the introduction above. That figure comes from prosecutors’ allegations, not a final determination already made by a court.
The scam first opened a gap inside the companies. The three first impersonated corporate executives, contacting employees at different companies and claiming there was a “sensitive financial transaction” that needed assistance, then directing the employees to contact a lawyer at a large international law firm. Employees first received instructions from the executive, then came into contact with a professional who claimed to be involved in the transaction, and the entire payment task was packaged as a matter requiring confidential handling.
After gaining trust, the group switched identities again, impersonating lawyers at that law firm and asking employees to send funds to designated bank accounts. Prosecutors say these accounts were located in the United States and multiple countries in Europe and Asia; after receiving the money, the proceeds would be converted into cryptocurrency (digital assets that can be transferred to digital wallets or traded on-chain), then divided among the group.
The three suspects have been arrested in Spain and the United Kingdom. Saul and Hazan were arrested in Spain this summer, and 谢特里特 was arrested in the United Kingdom in September. They face charges including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering conspiracy, and aggravated identity theft. The indictment describes how the funds left corporate accounts step by step; the extent to which these allegations can be proven will ultimately still have to be determined by a court.
Once a fake executive speaks, why does the scam need a second fake identity?
This type of scam targets employees who have the authority to move company funds and must also follow instructions. A single fake identity is easy to suspect, but two fake identities that back each other up can make an unusual transfer look like a normal process.
The indictment announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York says prosecutors allege that during the period mentioned above, the three suspects used AI (technology that generates or forges content) to imitate the voices and images of corporate executives and lawyers, tricking multiple companies around the world into sending large sums.
Real executives may indeed ask for matters such as compensation, mergers and acquisitions, or investments to be handled privately, so employees may not immediately become suspicious. The impersonators also urge employees not to discuss the matter with colleagues, so that the scam is not exposed.
In the second step, an accomplice takes over, posing as a lawyer at a large international law firm. The employee has already received instructions from the “executive,” and the lawyer’s request that follows connects with that transaction, so the transfer no longer looks like acting on one’s own but more like a transaction with all the formalities in place. The fake lawyer continues to build trust and designates the receiving account.
The two identities separately resolve the doubts about “internal authorization” and “external confirmation.” Voices and images allow impostors to contact employees directly in the guise of executives or lawyers, without having to rely only on text emails, and cross-institutional impersonation that once required multiple people to collaborate and coordinate repeatedly is therefore easier to replicate at scale.
Public materials list victims including hospital groups, banks, mutual fund companies, pet food companies, and technology companies, spanning industries such as healthcare, finance, and technology. Employees with authority over large payments and access to sensitive transactions are the positions this process targets.
For companies, without an independent callback verification before payment, merely looking at a face, hearing a voice, or even checking whether two identities can corroborate each other is not enough to prove that an instruction is genuine. More important are: who proposes the transaction, who has the authority to approve it, and why the funds must be transferred immediately and cannot be discussed.
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Paywall highlights: If even voices and lawyers can be faked, how should urgent transfers be trusted?