- AI-generated voice clones tricked employees into wiring over $129 million by impersonating CEOs and lawyers.
- Three defendants used aliases like Rocky Balboa and Superman Cash to run the scheme from 2024 to 2026.
- Victims included a pet food company, hospital systems, and a bank, with losses ranging from $2.7 million to $11.6 million.
- Stolen funds were allegedly laundered through accounts in nine countries and converted into cryptocurrency.
- Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald warned businesses to protect themselves from criminals exploiting "super intelligence" technology.
A slick international crew allegedly used artificial intelligence to clone the voices and images of corporate titans and high-powered lawyers, tricking employees at hospitals, banks and a pet food company into wiring more than $129 million to accounts around the world, federal prosecutors announced last Thursday. The three defendants, who went by aliases like “Rocky Balboa,” “Superman Cash” and “Fat Boy,” allegedly ran the scheme from 2024 to 2026, according to an indictment unsealed in Manhattan.
How the voice-cloning scam tricked employees into wiring millions
Prosecutors say the operation began with a phone call. Using AI-generated audio that mimicked a company’s chief executive, a conspirator would contact an accounting employee and claim to need help closing a confidential financial deal. The fake CEO then sent the worker to supposed attorneys at big international law firms, who were actually just more members of the crew in disguise. Once connected, those phony lawyers instructed the employee to wire large sums to accounts controlled by the group.
The approach proved devastatingly effective. The Justice Department's press release cites six victim companies that lost a combined $31.9 million: $11.6 million from a U.K. financial technology firm, $5.2 million from a Florida pet food company, $4.8 million from a Missouri hospital system, $4.6 million from a Massachusetts mutual fund, $3 million from a California hospital system and $2.7 million from a Rhode Island bank. The full haul exceeded $129 million, prosecutors say.
A handwritten ‘Lawyer Call’ script and a $400 million laundering boast
The indictment names Jacob Soall, 41, of Spain and the U.K., as the man who often posed as a British attorney. He used a handwritten crib sheet labeled “Lawyer Call” containing lines aimed at stopping victims from talking about the calls with co-workers, according to the release. Soall went by the aliases “Seba Clarke” and “Rocky Balboa.”
Sharon Hazan, 54, of Israel, allegedly handled the money laundering side. Prosecutors say he boasted of laundering money since 1994, moved over $400 million in three years and called himself “number one all over the world” in his line of work. His aliases included “Superman Cash,” “Impossible Mission,” “Fat Boy” and “Ron.” Hazan was previously convicted of conspiracy to commit bank fraud in the Southern District of New York in 2008.
Guy Sheetrit, 42, of Israel and the United Arab Emirates, is also accused of laundering proceeds. Soall was arrested in Spain on June 17, Hazan in Spain on Aug. 5 and Sheetrit in the U.K. on Sept. 7. Extradition requests are pending for all three.
How the stolen money disappeared into cryptocurrency and global accounts
The money trail spans nine countries. Prosecutors say victims wired funds to accounts in the United States, Spain, Portugal, Greece, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Austria, Slovakia and China. From there, the cash was allegedly turned into cryptocurrency to cover its tracks before being shared among the conspirators.
Each defendant faces seven federal charges: conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, two counts of aggravated identity theft, money laundering conspiracy and two counts of money laundering. The wire fraud and money laundering counts carry up to 20 years each, while each identity theft count adds two years.
Feds warn businesses about crimes powered by ‘super intelligence’
U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald warned that while super intelligence technology, the Trump administration’s newly mandated term for AI, offers tremendous potential, criminals are exploiting it. “The public should recognize that there are some who seek to use this emerging technology to pursue criminal goals,” he said, urging businesses to protect themselves.
There are still some big unknowns, including what tools the crew used to make the fake voices and images, whether any banks caught on to the transfers and whether any of the victims will ever see their money again. Those who believe they were targeted can file a report through the FBI’s tips page.
The lesson for every business is brutal and simple: That familiar voice on the phone — the one that sounds exactly like your CEO, asking you to wire money to a lawyer — cannot be trusted anymore. Washington may be busy renaming the technology, but thieves are already cashing in on it, and even the most recognizable voice may be nothing more than a very convincing ghost.
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