In the first case of its kind in the country, a Charlotte-area man is charged with using AI to manipulate music streaming platforms to siphon off over $10 million in royalties, federal authorities said Wednesday.
Michael Smith, 52, of Cornelius, was arrested Wednesday and is charged with wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York said in a news release.
Each charge carries up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Smith’s complex scheme used automated programs, or “bots,” to stream songs created with artificial intelligence, according to an indictment released Wednesday by the U.S. Attorney’s office and the FBI’s New York Field Office.
He then used the bot accounts to stream those songs billions of times across multiple streaming platforms to boost his royalties to over $10 million, according to the indictment.
Unique AI case, first in the country — North Carolina man used AI songs and bots to steal $10M in streaming royalties, feds say
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