A sprawling fraud operation allegedly used AI-generated voices and images to impersonate corporate executives, then stole the identities of lawyers at major international firms to convince employees to authorize millions of dollars in fraudulent transfers.
The scheme, detailed in a federal indictment unsealed November 5, illustrates how synthetic audio and video can be combined with the identities of real legal professionals and familiar corporate procedures to make fraudulent financial instructions appear legitimate.
Federal prosecutors say three men and their co-conspirators targeted thousands of businesses worldwide between July 2024 and February 2026, stealing approximately $129 million by impersonating chief executive officers and attorneys supposedly overseeing confidential corporate transactions.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York charged…
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