AI Security · Financial Fraud

Musician Pleads Guilty to Millions in Streaming Royalty Fraud Using AI

Michael Smith pleaded guilty to using AI-generated tracks and thousands of bot accounts to inflate streaming numbers. He siphoned more than $8 million in royalties across Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and YouTube Music from 2017–2024. Prosecutors say the scheme generated billions of fake streams and involved VPNs and bulk account registrations; Smith faces up to five years and agreed to forfeit roughly $8.09 million.

3 sources · Mar 20

Timeline

• Mar 20 Reported by The Record from Recorded Future

Sources

• Mar 20 The Record from Recorded Future

  Man pleads guilty to $8 million AI-generated music scheme

  Michael Smith, 54, admitted to inflating streaming numbers for hundreds of thousands of AI-generated songs by deploying thousands of fake accounts across major platforms, including Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify and YouTube Music.

  original

• Mar 20 Help Net Security

  Fake AI songs streamed billions of times, netting fraudster $10 million - Help Net Security

  Man pleads guilty in fraud case using AI, music streaming bots and generated songs to divert millions in royalties from artists.

  original

• Mar 20 BleepingComputer

  Musician admits to $10M streaming royalty fraud using AI bots

  North Carolina musician Michael Smith has pleaded guilty to collecting over $10 million in royalty payments through a massive streaming royalty fraud scheme on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and YouTube Music.

  original

Part of the PlainSec briefing for 2026-03-21

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