The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York alleged that the defendants used technology prosecutors called "super intelligence" to mimic executives' voices or images. The group then posed as lawyers at major international firms to trick employees into making sham transfers, according to the indictment, the prosecutors claim. "Super intelligence" is the Trump administration's preferred term for AI technology.
The group allegedly contacted employees at targeted companies, posing as their CEOs and asking for help with confidential financial transactions. They then posed as lawyers at major international companies supposedly advising on the deals, and told employees to transfer money to bank accounts controlled by the group.
The group allegedly defrauded a U.K. fintech company out of $11 million. Prosecutors also alleged that the three men stole $4.8 million from a Missouri hospital system, $2.7 million from a Rhode Island bank and $5.2 million from a Florida pet food company. The indictment does not name the targeted companies.
SDNY prosecutors said the group stole more than $129 million. The three men directed payments to accounts in countries, including the U.S., Spain, Portugal, Greece, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Austria, Slovakia and China. They then allegedly converted the proceeds into cryptocurrency to conceal their source and ownership.
Jacob Soall, 41, was arrested in Spain in June, Sharon Hazan, 54, in Spain in August, and Guy Sheetrit, 42, in the U.K. in September.
Prosecutors described Soall as being from Marbella, Spain, and the U.K.; Hazan from Israel; and Sheetrit from Israel and the UAE. The men are facing extradition to the U.S.
"The alleged scheme orchestrated by Soall, Hazan, and Sheetrit demonstrates how the use of advanced technology can be exploited to commit large-scale fraud," FBI assistant director in charge James C. Barnacle Jr. said.
Soall allegedly posed as U.K. lawyers and kept a handwritten script called "Lawyer Call" to help him sound like a real solicitor. The script included instructions for discouraging victims from discussing their conversations with colleagues.
Hazan allegedly laundered money from the scheme and said he had been doing so since 1994, moving more than $400 million during the past three years, according to the indictment. He allegedly described himself as "number one all over the world" among professional money launderers.
Sheetrit also allegedly laundered proceeds from the fraud.
U.S. Attorney for SDNY Jamie McDonald said the technology "offers tremendous potential." But he warned of its use for criminal purposes.
The indictment charges all three men with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, conspiracy to commit money laundering and money laundering.
The wire fraud and money laundering charges each carry maximum 20-year prison terms, while the identity theft counts carry maximum two-year terms. The charges are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent, the prosecutors said.
This case is being handled by the Office's Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Mead, Brandon C. Thompson and Jackie Delligatti are in charge of the prosecution.
The U.K.'s National Crime Agency and Spain's Policía Nacional were involved in the arrests.
The case is United States v. Soall et al., case number 26 Cr. 168, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
--Editing by Joe Millis.
For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.