DOJ Charges Trio in $129M AI CEO Impersonation Fraud

Federal prosecutors in New York charged three foreign nationals in a scheme that used AI CEO fraud tactics to steal more than $129 million, NBC News reported on Nov. 6, 2026. The Southern District of New York said the defendants used artificial intelligence, which the office also called "super intelligence," to impersonate corporate executives and lawyers.

According to the SDNY press release, the conspiracy ran from July 2024 to February 2026. Defendants allegedly tricked accounting staff into wiring large sums to accounts the group controlled, then converted proceeds into cryptocurrency.

How Did the Alleged AI Impersonation Scam Work?

Prosecutors say the group typically contacted accounting employees while posing as the CEO, claimed help was needed on a confidential deal, and used AI to mimic the executive's voice or image on calls.

While posing as the CEO, they directed the employee to contact attorneys at major international law firms who were supposedly handling the deal. Those "attorneys" were also impostors, prosecutors said, and one of them ultimately ordered a wire to a conspiracy-controlled bank account.

Victim companies in the release include New York and Rhode Island banks, Missouri and California hospital systems, a U.K. fintech firm, a Massachusetts mutual fund, and a Florida pet food company, with listed losses from about $2.7 million to about $11.6 million.

Who Was Charged, and What Are the Counts?

Jacob Soall, also known as "Rocky Balboa" and "Seba Clarke," was arrested in Spain in June 2026. Sharon Hazan, who used nicknames including "Superman Cash" and "Fat Boy," was arrested in Spain in August. Guy Sheetrit was arrested in the United Kingdom in September. Extradition requests are pending.

Soall allegedly impersonated U.K. attorneys with a "Lawyer Call" script. Hazan is accused of laundering proceeds and, prosecutors say, boasted of more than $400 million laundered in three years; he also has a 2008 SDNY bank-fraud conspiracy conviction. Sheetrit is also accused of laundering.

Each defendant faces conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, two aggravated identity theft counts, money laundering conspiracy, and two money laundering counts. Each charge carries a maximum of 20 years in prison. The charges are allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

Our Take

This case is a reminder that voice and video deepfakes are now a finance-desk risk, not only a social media problem. Verify unusual wire requests through a second channel you already trust, and treat "confidential CEO" urgency as a red flag.

Defenders are racing the same threat curve as attackers. We covered OpenAI's GPT-6 Cyber launch for security teams.

Related research is in our report on AI-assisted cyber attacks.

For password and social-engineering hygiene, see Bank of America's AI password warning.

Recent Linux remote-login risk context is in our sshole vulnerability report.

Item	Details
Announced	Nov. 5-6, 2026 (SDNY / NBC)
Alleged loss	More than $129 million
Period	July 2024 to February 2026
Method	AI voice/image impersonation of CEOs and lawyers
Defendants	Soall, Hazan, Sheetrit (extradition pending)
Max per charge	20 years