# Three charged in US with stealing $129 million from companies using AI doubles of executives

- URL: https://syn.by/en/technology/artificial-intelligence/three-charged-stealing-129-million/
- Published: 2026-11-07T10:00:41+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-08T05:05:27+00:00
- Section: Artificial Intelligence
- Language: en
- RU edition: https://syn.by/ru/tekhnologii/iskusstvennyj-intellekt/ssha-obvinili-troikh-krazhe-129-mln.md
- BE edition: https://syn.by/tekhnalogii/shtuchny-inteliekt/zsha-abvinavacili-kradziazh-129-mln.md

> According to US prosecutors, the group spent more than a year and a half faking the voices and faces of executives to get accountants to transfer money. The defendants face up to 20 years in prison.

![](https://syn.by/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/illustration-6443-1024x585.webp)

The US federal prosecutor's office has charged two Israelis and their alleged accomplice with large-scale fraud using artificial intelligence. According to the investigation, the group stole more than 129 million dollars from companies in the US and other countries by posing as their executives.

The scheme, as US prosecutors describe it, began with an email to an accounting employee, supposedly from the head of the company, asking them to carry out a confidential financial transaction. The fraudsters then arranged a phone or video call, faking the executive's voice and image with the help of AI. The employee was told to contact a "lawyer" at a major law firm, a role played by another member of the group. According to the prosecutors, one of the defendants used a pre-written script to pose more convincingly as an attorney.

After several stages of confirmation, the employee was persuaded to send a large bank transfer to a specified account. The money was moved between accounts in different countries, converted into cryptocurrency and divided among the participants. The victims or potential victims named include hospital systems in the US, a bank, a British fintech company, an investment company and an animal feed manufacturer.

The three defendants are charged with wire fraud, identity theft and money laundering. On some of the charges they face up to 20 years in prison. No Belarusian companies are named among the victims.