Trio Charged in $129M 'Super Intelligence' Fraud

NEW YORK, N.Y. — Three foreign nationals were charged in an indictment unsealed Thursday with using so-called super intelligence to impersonate corporate executives and lawyers in a scheme that stole more than $129 million from companies in the United States and around the world, federal prosecutors announced.

Read the Justice Department release: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/three-foreign-nationals-arrested-and-charged-scheme-use-super-intelligence-defraud

The Arrests, The Charges, The Scheme

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jamie McDonald and FBI New York Field Office Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle Jr. announced the unsealing of the indictment on November 5, 2026, the release stated.

The defendants are Jacob Soall, 41, of Marbella, Spain, and the United Kingdom; Sharon Hazan, 54, of Israel; and Guy Sheetrit, 42, of Israel and the United Arab Emirates, the release stated.

Soall was arrested in Spain on June 17, 2026, Hazan was arrested in Spain on August 5, 2026, and Sheetrit was arrested in the United Kingdom on September 7, 2026, the release stated. Extradition requests for all three are pending, the release stated.

Each man faces seven counts, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, two counts of aggravated identity theft, money laundering conspiracy and two counts of money laundering, the release stated. The wire fraud and money laundering counts each carry up to 20 years in prison, and each aggravated identity theft count carries up to two years, the release stated.

The charges are accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty, the release stated.

The CEO Calls, The Fake Lawyers, The Wires

Between 2024 and 2026, Soall, Hazan, Sheetrit and their co-conspirators used super intelligence to impersonate the voices and images of corporate executives at numerous companies and attorneys at major law firms, the release stated.

The scheme typically began with the conspirators targeting an employee at a victim company and pretending to be the company's chief executive officer, the release stated. They told the employee they needed help with a confidential financial transaction and used super intelligence to mimic the CEO's voice and image in calls with the employee, the release stated.

While pretending to be the CEO, they directed the employee to contact lawyers at large international law firms who they said were also working on the sham transaction, the release stated. The conspirators then impersonated those lawyers as well, and a conspirator posing as a lawyer ultimately directed the employee to wire a large sum of money to a bank account controlled by members of the conspiracy, the release stated.

Soall primarily impersonated attorneys from the United Kingdom, the release stated. He kept a handwritten script titled "Lawyer Call" that he used to make himself seem like a real attorney when speaking with victims, the release stated. The script included language designed to convince victim employees not to discuss their communications with fellow employees, the release stated.

The Victims, The Money Trail, The Laundering

The scheme ultimately stole more than $129 million from victim companies in the United States and around the world, the release stated.

The losses included $4,829,580 from a hospital system headquartered in Missouri; $2,684,580 from a bank headquartered in Rhode Island; $2,968,497 from a hospital system headquartered in California; $11,578,474 from a financial technology company headquartered in the United Kingdom; $4,639,918 from a mutual fund company headquartered in Massachusetts; and $5,242,747 from a pet food company headquartered in Florida, the release stated.

The conspirators directed victim companies to wire money to bank accounts they controlled in the United States, Spain, Portugal, Greece, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Austria, Slovakia and China, the release stated. Once wired, the money was converted into cryptocurrency in an attempt to conceal its source, ownership and control, then distributed among the conspirators, the release stated.

Hazan and Sheetrit laundered funds from the fraud scheme, the release stated. Hazan boasted that he had been laundering money since 1994, that he had laundered more than $400 million in just the past three years, and that among professional money launderers he was "number one all over the world," the release stated.

Hazan was previously convicted in the Southern District of New York of conspiracy to commit bank fraud in 2008, the release stated.

"SI technology offers tremendous potential. But the public should recognize that there are some who seek to use this emerging technology to pursue criminal goals," U.S. Attorney Jamie McDonald said. "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. I encourage individuals and the business community to consider how to best protect themselves from the emerging threat of SI-enabled crime. This Office and our law enforcement partners will do our part and continue to identify, investigate, and prosecute criminals, including those who use new technologies to defraud Americans."

"The alleged scheme orchestrated by Soall, Hazan, and Sheetrit demonstrates how the use of advanced technology can be exploited to commit large scale fraud," FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle Jr. said. "As criminals continue to weaponize emerging technologies, the FBI remains committed to rapidly adapting our capabilities to identify, investigate, and disrupt those who seek to harm New Yorkers and businesses operating in our communities."

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

, The Prosecution, The Tip Line

The case is being handled by the Office's Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit, the release stated. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Mead, Brandon C. Thompson and Jackie Delligatti are in charge of the prosecution, the release stated.

McDonald thanked the FBI, Spain and its Policía Nacional for their assistance in apprehending Soall and Hazan, and the United Kingdom and its National Crime Agency for their assistance in apprehending Sheetrit, the release stated.

The three men remain subject to pending extradition requests, the release stated.

Anyone who believes they may be a victim of the conduct described in the release or knows information regarding its perpetrators can report it through the FBI's online tips page at tips.fbi.gov, the release stated.

Sources

U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, "Three Foreign Nationals Arrested And Charged With Scheme To Use Super Intelligence To Defraud Companies Of $129 Million," November 5, 2026: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/three-foreign-nationals-arrested-and-charged-scheme-use-super-intelligence-defraud