A 52-year-old North Carolina resident is accused of fraud involving a music streaming service that earned him more than $10 million. He faces life in prison, The New York Times reports.
In what federal authorities are calling a “brazen scam,” the man allegedly used artificial intelligence to create hundreds of thousands of songs, then continuously streamed them using bot accounts and then received illicit payments.
The man, who is also a musician, was arrested and charged with three felonies. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in New York, alleges that between 2017 and the present, he fraudulently inflated the cost of streaming music on services such as Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music and YouTube Music.
According to the US Attorney Damian WilliamsThe defendant stole millions in royalties that should have been paid to musicians, songwriters and other rights holders whose songs were legally streamed.
“The FBI remains committed to identifying those who manipulate advanced technology for illicit gain and infringe on the genuine artistic talent of others.” – said a joint statement from the service and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Southern New York.
