Two Israeli men were among three individuals charged for their alleged involvement in a fraud scheme that used artificial intelligence to impersonate CEOs and steal over $129 million from companies around the world, according to documents unsealed by the FBI and the US Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the Southern District of New York on Thursday.
Israeli national Sharon Hazan and dual Israeli-Emirati national Guy Sheetrit, along with co-conspirator and dual Spanish-British national Jacob Soall, were all charged with multiple counts of crimes related to wire fraud, money laundering, and identity theft in relation to the scheme.
Hazan, Sheetrit, Soall used AI to impersonate CEOs, lawyers
According to the USAO, the three men are accused of beginning each instance of the fraud scheme by choosing employees at companies to target.
They allegedly used AI to falsify the voice and image of each…
Insurance fraud involves making false or exaggerated claims to an insurance provider.
- Hard Fraud: Someone deliberately causes a loss (e.g., setting fire to a warehouse or staging a car accident) specifically to collect a payout.
- Soft Fraud: More common and often viewed as “victimless” by the perpetrator. It involves exaggerating a legitimate claim, such as overstating the value of stolen items in a home burglary to cover the deductible.