AI Security · Financial Fraud

Musician Pleads Guilty to Millions in Streaming Royalty Fraud Using AI

Musician Michael Smith pleaded guilty to fraudulently collecting more than $10 million in streaming royalties using AI-generated tracks and fake streams. He used automated bots and VPNs to inflate billions of plays across Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and YouTube Music from 2017 to 2024.

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 2026-03-23

Every edition of this story: Musician Pleads Guilty to Millions in Streaming Royalty Fraud Using AI