AI Music Fraudster Pleads Guilty in Landmark U.S. Streaming Case

Music streaming services distribute royalty pools according to listening activity, meaning fabricated plays can divert revenue from legitimate musicians, songwriters and rights holders. Michael Smith built thousands of fake accounts and used AI to obtain hundreds of thousands of tracks, spreading automated streams across a vast catalog to evade fraud controls. The prosecution marked the first U.S. federal criminal case involving artificially inflated music streaming.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said Smith pleaded guilty on March 19, 2026, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. His bots generated billions of plays across Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and YouTube Music. Prosecutors originally alleged more than $10 million in fraudulent royalties, while plea records put confirmed proceeds above $8 million. Smith agreed to forfeit $8,091,843.64 and faces up to five years in prison when sentenced on July 29.