DOJ Charges Three Foreign Nationals in $129 Million Deepfake Wire Fraud Scheme
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have charged three foreign nationals—Jacob Soall, Sharon Hazan, and Guy Sheetrit—with orchestrating a multi-year scheme that used artificial intelligence to impersonate chief executives and attorneys. The alleged fraud tricked employees of various companies into wiring over $129 million for fictitious confidential deals. The indictment, unsealed in the Southern District of New York, details how the conspirators initiated contact via email, often through electronic signature services like DocuSign, posing as a company's CEO seeking assistance with a secret financial transaction. Subsequent phone or video calls allegedly utilized AI to mimic the executive's voice and sometimes appearance. Employees were then directed to a purported attorney, often a real lawyer from a major European law firm whose identity was stolen, who would describe a fake acquisition and instruct where to send the funds. Once transferred, the money was converted into cryptocurrency and distributed among ...
