Three counts each of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and conspiracy to launder money have been brought against North Carolina resident Michael Smith.
It is the first criminal case of its kind that prosecutors claim to have handled.
“Through his brazen fraud scheme, Smith stole millions in royalties that should have been paid to musicians, songwriters, and other rights holders whose songs were legitimately streamed,” stated US attorney Damian Williams.
The 52-year-old manipulated streams by using hundreds of thousands of AI-generated songs, according to an unsealed indictment outlining the charges.
Thousands of automated bot accounts streamed the tunes billions of times across various platforms in order to avoid detection.
According to the authorities, Mr. Smith was paid approximately $10 million in royalties during the course of the several-year operation.
According to prosecutors, Mr. Smith would eventually “face the music” as a result of their probe, which also included the FBI.
FBI acting assistant director Christie M. Curtis stated, “The FBI remains dedicated to plucking out those who manipulate advanced technology to receive illicit profits and infringe on the genuine artistic talent of others.”
