US federal prosecutors say businesses have lost $129M+ to scam calls using AI-generated voices to mimic company executives in the 18 months since July 2024

The ability to impersonate company executives with convincing AI-generated voices and faces is now a direct threat to financial transactions.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have charged three individuals, Jacob Soall, Sharon Hazan, and Guy Sheetrit, with orchestrating a sophisticated scam that defrauded companies of over $129 million using AI-generated voices and faces to impersonate executives. The scheme, which ran from July 2024 to February 2026, involved tricking employees into wiring funds for purported confidential deals. The fraudsters allegedly used AI to mimic CEO voices and, in some instances, executive faces during video calls. They also employed a fake lawyer, who provided fraudulent wiring instructions, before converting the stolen money into cryptocurrency and splitting the proceeds. Authorities arrested Soall and Hazan in Spain and Sheetrit in the United Kingdom, and all three are awaiting extradition to the U.S. to face charges including wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering.

This case highlights a significant escalation in cybercrime tactics, demonstrating how readily available AI technology can be weaponized for large-scale financial fraud. The success of this scheme, netting over $129 million, underscores a critical vulnerability in traditional verification processes within corporate finance departments, where auditory or visual cues from known figures were once considered sufficient. The reliance on impersonation of authority figures, combined with sophisticated voice and video synthesis, bypasses established security protocols and demands new methods of authentication.

Businesses must now urgently re-evaluate their internal communication and financial transaction safeguards to incorporate multi-factor authentication that goes beyond voice or video confirmation. The prosecution of this case, involving international arrests and extradition, signals a concerted effort by law enforcement to combat these evolving AI-driven crimes. Companies that have been victims represent a diverse range of industries, from finance to healthcare, indicating the broad applicability and impact of such scams across the corporate landscape.