AI-generated executives allegedly duped firms into $100m in fake deal transfers

US prosecutors say three men used AI-generated voices and images to impersonate executives and lawyers, steering company employees towards accounts controlled by the accused.

Federal prosecutors allege that three men used artificial-intelligence-generated voices and images to impersonate executives and lawyers, persuading employees at companies around the world to send money for fictitious confidential deals. The indictment, announced by the US Department of Justice, puts the alleged losses at more than $100 million.

The accused are Jacob Soall, Sharon Hazan and Guy Sheetrit. Prosecutors say the operation targeted finance staff able to approve large transfers, often beginning with an electronic-signature request that appeared to come from a company chief executive. Employees were then directed to contact a supposed lawyer and discuss a transaction under the pretence of strict confidentiality.

According to the indictment, the impersonations continued in phone and video calls, where AI-generated material was allegedly used to make the purported executives and lawyers seem genuine. The supposed lawyers supplied bank details for accounts controlled by the accused, prosecutors say. The proceeds were then converted into cryptocurrency and divided among participants.

The alleged losses affected businesses in several sectors. Prosecutors cite transfers from hospital systems in Missouri and California, a Rhode Island bank, a British financial technology firm, a Massachusetts mutual fund company and a Florida pet-food business. In one attempted transaction, an employee at a New York investment bank approved a transfer, but the bank’s back office stopped it before the funds left.

The defendants face charges including wire fraud, money laundering, conspiracy and aggravated identity theft. The Justice Department says Soall and Hazan were arrested in Spain, while Sheetrit was arrested in the United Kingdom; extradition requests were pending when the department announced the case. The charges are allegations, and all three are presumed innocent unless proved guilty.

The alleged tactics echo a wider pattern in which plausible professional approaches are used to gain access to money or computer systems. The Block reported that a fake job offer was used to compromise a senior engineer at Sky Mavis before the 2022 Ronin Network theft. A North Korean cryptocurrency-threats report puts the stolen sum at about $624 million and describes how a malicious file, presented as an employment document, helped attackers penetrate the company’s systems.

A separate, much larger cryptocurrency theft from Binance illustrates how recruitment scams can form one part of a complex cyberattack. Reuters reported that Binance said an engineer downloaded malicious code after a bogus hiring process, while access obtained through that and a separate software compromise was used to reach systems connected to wallet operations. The Washington Post likewise reported Binance’s account of the incident, while noting that attribution and investigative claims remained under examination.

The cases differ in their targets and alleged methods, but each highlights the risks of trusting familiar business rituals without independently verifying them. In the fraud alleged by US prosecutors, that trust was sought through supposed executive instructions and legal calls; in the crypto incidents, recruitment processes provided a route into company systems.

Source Reference Map

Inspired by headline at: ^[1]

Sources by paragraph:

Source: Fuse Wire Services