Three Men Charged in Alleged $129 Million Scheme Using AI to Impersonate Executives and Lawyers

Published Nov. 6, 2026. Case status is current as of that date.

An employee gets a call from the chief executive. The voice is right. The request is confidential: help close a sensitive deal, and talk to the outside lawyers handling it. Those lawyers sound real too. Then comes the instruction to wire a large sum.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan allege that three men used artificial intelligence to trick companies into wiring about $129 million. On Nov. 5, 2026, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced the unsealing of an indictment charging Jacob Soall, Sharon Hazan and Guy Sheetrit with fraud and money laundering offenses [1]. The release calls the technology "super intelligence" ("SI"); news coverage calls it artificial intelligence [2].

Important: The men are charged, not convicted. The release states that "the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty," and that every fact in the indictment "should be treated as an allegation." [1]

How the scheme allegedly worked

The steps below come from the indictment as described in the U.S. Attorney's Office release [1]. They are allegations.

1. The target. Between 2024 and 2026, prosecutors say, the defendants and their co-conspirators used SI to impersonate the voices and/or images of corporate executives and of attorneys at major law firms. ABC News, reporting on the indictment, gave the period as July 2024 to February 2026 [2].
2. The "CEO" call. They allegedly began by targeting employees at "Victim Companies" and pretending to be the chief executive. They said they needed help with a confidential financial transaction and used SI to mimic the CEO's voice and/or image on calls.
3. The "lawyers." The fake CEO allegedly told the employee to contact lawyers at large international law firms who were supposedly working on the same sham deal. Members of the conspiracy then impersonated those lawyers to make the transaction look real.
4. The wire. A conspirator posing as one of the lawyers would ultimately direct the employee to wire a large sum to a bank account that was in fact controlled by the conspiracy.
5. The cash-out. The money was allegedly wired to accounts in the United States, Europe, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore and China, then converted into cryptocurrency to hide its source.

Prosecutors allege the scheme took more than $129 million from companies in the United States and elsewhere. The release lists alleged victims by type only: hospital systems, a bank, a financial technology company, a mutual fund company and a pet food company [1]. No victims are named here.

"As alleged, Jacob Soall, Sharon Hazan, and Guy Sheetrit abused groundbreaking super intelligence technology to impersonate real people and deceive corporate executives into sending them and their co-conspirators approximately $129 million," said U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald [1].

The people charged and their status

According to the release [1]:

• Jacob Soall, 41, of Marbella, Spain, and the United Kingdom, also identified in the indictment as "Seba Clarke" and "Rocky Balboa." He was arrested in Spain on June 17, 2026. Prosecutors say he mainly impersonated U.K. attorneys and kept a handwritten script titled "Lawyer Call" with language meant to convince employees not to discuss the calls with colleagues.
• Sharon Hazan, 54, of Israel, also identified as "Superman Cash," "Impossible Mission," "Fat Boy" and "Ron." He was arrested in Spain on Aug. 5, 2026. Prosecutors say he, among other things, laundered funds from the scheme.
• Guy Sheetrit, 42, of Israel and the United Arab Emirates. He was arrested in the United Kingdom on Sept. 7, 2026. Prosecutors say he also, among other things, laundered funds from the scheme.

Extradition requests for all three are pending. Each faces seven counts: conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, two counts of aggravated identity theft, money laundering conspiracy and two counts of money laundering. The maximum sentences are 20 years for each fraud and money laundering count and two years for each identity theft count. The release gives no docket number or judge, and no plea has been reported: status pending.

The FBI's New York Field Office investigated, with help from Spain's Policía Nacional and the U.K.'s National Crime Agency [1].

Red flags

These are general warning signs, not claims about any person in this case.

• An executive or outside lawyer you rarely deal with asks you to handle a confidential financial transaction and tells you not to discuss it.
• You are told to contact "attorneys" you have never worked with, who then direct a wire.
• The request is urgent and comes by phone or video rather than through your company's normal payment approval process.
• The payee account is new or overseas, or does not match the deal described.
• The voice sounds right but the request breaks normal procedure. A familiar voice is no longer proof of identity.

If you receive a request like this

• Verify independently. Hang up and call the executive or law firm back using a number from your own directory, not one supplied in the request.
• Require a second approver for large or unusual wires, and do not let secrecy override that rule.
• Contact your bank immediately if a wire has gone out.
• Report it. The U.S. Attorney's Office asks anyone who believes they may be a victim of this conduct, or who has information about its perpetrators, to use the FBI's tips page at tips.fbi.gov [1]. You can also file a complaint at the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center, ic3.gov.

Case status (as of Nov. 6, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status	Source
Jacob Soall, 41 (aka "Seba Clarke," "Rocky Balboa")	U.S. District Court, S.D.N.Y. (docket not stated in release)	Indictment unsealed Nov. 5, 2026; seven counts; arrested in Spain June 17, 2026; extradition pending; presumed innocent	[1]
Sharon Hazan, 54 (aka "Superman Cash," "Impossible Mission," "Fat Boy," "Ron")	Same	Indictment unsealed Nov. 5, 2026; seven counts; arrested in Spain Aug. 5, 2026; extradition pending; presumed innocent	[1]
Guy Sheetrit, 42	Same	Indictment unsealed Nov. 5, 2026; seven counts; arrested in the U.K. Sept. 7, 2026; extradition pending; presumed innocent	[1]

No defendant has been convicted. Statuses can change.

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York, "Three Foreign Nationals Arrested And Charged With Scheme To Use Super Intelligence To Defraud Companies Of $129 Million," Nov. 5, 2026. https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/three-foreign-nationals-arrested-and-charged-scheme-use-super-intelligence-defraud
2. Aaron Katersky, ABC News/Good Morning America, "Trio used AI to impersonate corporate execs, defrauding companies of nearly $130 million: DOJ," Nov. 5, 2026. https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/amp/news/story/trio-ai-impersonate-corporate-execs-defrauding-companies-130-137894421

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