NEW YORK, November 8, 2026 — Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have unsealed an indictment charging three foreign nationals with orchestrating a multi-year fraud scheme that used artificial intelligence to impersonate chief executives and attorneys, stealing at least $129 million from companies worldwide. The case marks one of the largest known deployments of deepfake voice and video technology in a corporate wire fraud operation.
The Indictment and the Defendants
The Southern District of New York charged Jacob Soall, 41, Sharon Hazan, 54, and Guy Sheetrit, 42, with seven counts each, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering. Soall has ties to Marbella, Spain, and the United Kingdom; Hazan and Sheetrit are citizens of Israel, with Sheetrit also linked to the United Arab Emirates. Hazan was previously convicted of conspiracy to commit bank fraud in the same court in 2008, according to prosecutors.
The conspiracy ran from at least July 2024 through February of this year. Prosecutors allege the operation targeted thousands of companies globally, focusing on employees in accounting departments with authority to approve large wire transfers.
How the AI Impersonation Worked
The shift is clear: attackers moved beyond simple email compromise into real-time, multimodal deepfakes. The scheme typically began with an email sent through an electronic signature service like DocuSign, purportedly from the victim’s CEO, referencing a confidential deal requiring a non-disclosure agreement. Once the employee engaged, conspirators arranged phone or video calls where they used AI to clone the executive’s voice and, in some instances, their visual likeness.
On these calls, the fake executive would hand off the employee to a purported attorney — often borrowing the identity of a real lawyer at a top-50 global law firm’s European office. That “lawyer” would detail a confidential transaction, frequently an acquisition, and provide wiring instructions. Soall allegedly specialized in impersonating these UK-based attorneys and maintained a handwritten “Lawyer Call” script designed to invoke confidentiality and insider-trading concerns, pressuring the employee to stay silent.
Victims Across Sectors and Borders
The alleged losses cut across industries and geographies. A Missouri hospital system lost approximately $4.83 million in November 2024, while a Rhode Island bank lost roughly $2.68 million the same month. A California hospital system saw about $2.97 million stolen in December 2024.
Not every attempt succeeded. Prosecutors noted that a roughly $2.85 million transfer sought from a major New York investment bank in October 2024 was stopped by the bank’s back office before the funds left.
Global Money Laundering via Crypto
Stolen funds were routed through accounts in the United States, Spain, Portugal, Greece, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Austria, Slovakia, and China. The conspirators then converted the money into cryptocurrency to obscure its origin before splitting the proceeds. Prosecutors allege Hazan and Sheetrit managed the laundering operation, with Hazan boasting that he had moved more than $400 million in the prior three years alone and considered himself “number one all over the world” among professional money launderers.
Arrests and Extradition
Spanish authorities arrested Soall on June 17 and Hazan on August 5. UK police arrested Sheetrit on September 7. The United States has requested extradition for all three men, who are presumed innocent unless proven guilty. Wire fraud and money laundering charges carry maximum sentences of 20 years each; each aggravated identity theft count carries a mandatory two-year sentence.
U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald described the technology involved as “super intelligence” during the announcement, noting that while AI “offers tremendous potential,” the public must recognize that some seek to use it for criminal ends. James C. Barnacle, Jr., assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York field office, said the bureau remains committed to rapidly adapting its capabilities to disrupt those weaponizing emerging technologies.
Sources
- DOJ Charges Three in $129 Million Deepfake CEO and Lawyer Wire Fraud Scheme — BigGo Finance
- US charges three over $129m AI CEO impersonation scheme
- Three charged with using AI to impersonate CEOs, steal about $129M
Photo: Ajay Suresh from New York, NY, USA (CC BY 2.0)
