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Musician Pleads Guilty to $10 Million Streaming Royalty Fraud Using AI-Generated Songs and Bots

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Summary

Michael Smith pleaded guilty to wire-fraud conspiracy after using thousands of bot accounts and VPNs to generate billions of fake streams of AI-generated songs, collecting over $10 million in royalties, prosecutors said.

Key points

  • Smith pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud over a scheme targeting Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and YouTube Music.
  • He uploaded hundreds of thousands of AI-generated songs and used automated accounts to generate billions of fake streams.
  • The operation used VPNs and cloud accounts to evade streaming platforms’ anti-fraud systems.
  • Prosecutors said the scheme generated over $10 million in royalty payments.
  • Smith agreed to forfeit $8,091,843.64 and faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

Article Details

Event Type
Streaming royalty fraud using AI-generated songs and automated bot accounts.
Impact
Michael Smith pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud after using bot accounts and VPNs to generate billions of fraudulent streams and collect over $10 million in royalties, diverting payments from artists and rights holders. He agreed to forfeit $8,091,843.64 and faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

People

Jay ClaytonIdentified in the article as the U.S. Attorney who commented on Smith's fraud and its impact on artists and rights holders.

Threat Actors

Michael SmithPleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for using automated bot accounts and VPNs to generate billions of fake streams and fraudulently collect streaming royalties.

Vendors

Amazoncollect over $10 million in streaming royalties from platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and YouTube Music.Appleto fraudulently collect over $10 million in streaming royalties from platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and YouTube Music.Spotifybot accounts to fraudulently collect over $10 million in streaming royalties from platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and YouTube Music.YouTubeover $10 million in streaming royalties from platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and YouTube Music.

Products

Amazon Musiccollect over $10 million in streaming royalties from platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and YouTube Music.Apple Musicto fraudulently collect over $10 million in streaming royalties from platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and YouTube Music.Spotifybot accounts to fraudulently collect over $10 million in streaming royalties from platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and YouTube Music.YouTube Music$10 million in streaming royalties from platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and YouTube Music.

Countries

United StatesAlthough the songs and listeners were fake, the millions of dollars Smith stole was real,” said U.S.

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