Hospital systems AI media incident — Nov 2026
A criminal ring used AI voice and image cloning to impersonate senior executives, defrauding global corporations of $129 million over 18 months
- Reported date
- Nov 8, 2026
- Target
- Hospital systems, banks and multinational corporations
The exact incident date was not established. This entry is dated by its source report.
Federal prosecutors in New York have charged three international operators for their roles in a sophisticated AI-driven fraud scheme that resulted in the theft of approximately $129 million from global entities. Over an 18-month period, the criminal ring targeted hospital systems, banks, and multinational corporations by impersonating senior executives to manipulate corporate accounting departments into authorizing fraudulent wire transfers.
What happened
The operation utilized a combination of advanced social engineering and artificial intelligence to deceive employees. The process typically began with fraudulent emails from individuals posing as chief executives, demanding urgent and confidential financial transactions. To solidify the deception, the operators arranged phone calls and video meetings where they used AI to clone the voices and images of company leadership. In some instances, the scammers instructed employees to contact fake lawyers who were supposedly representing prominent international law firms. Jacob Soall, one of the defendants, reportedly used a detailed handwritten script titled "Lawyer Call" to mimic an authentic attorney during these interactions.
Victims of the scheme included a bank in Rhode Island, hospital systems in Missouri and California, a financial technology firm in the UK, an investment management firm in Massachusetts, and a pet food company in Florida. Once the victims were convinced to initiate wire transfers, the stolen funds were converted into cryptocurrency to obscure their origins. The defendants—identified as Jacob Soall, Sharon Hazan, and Guy Sheetrit—operated from locations including Spain, the UK, Israel, and the United Arab Emirates. FBI agents arrested the trio between June and September. The defendants now face charges including wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, with each wire fraud count carrying a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison. Federal authorities continue to track the stolen funds while emphasizing the need for strict out-of-band identity verification protocols to prevent similar breaches.