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.
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 fi...