Technology

Fraudster jailed for using 10K bots and AI songs to outstream Taylor Swift

Ars Technica · October 7, 2026 at 1:57 PM

Fraudster jailed for using 10K bots and AI songs to outstream Taylor Swift

After pleading guilty, a 54-year-old North Carolina man, Michael Smith, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for using artificial intelligence to generate songs for a scheme that stole millions from music streaming platforms.

In a press release Tuesday, the US Department of Justice said that Smith is the first American criminally charged with AI-assisted streaming fraud.

First charged in 2024, Smith successfully ran the scheme for seven years without detection.

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Fraudster jailed for using 10K bots and AI songs to outstream Taylor Swift

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