Michael Smith Pleads Guilty to AI-Generated Music Streaming Fraud
Michael Smith, a 54-year-old North Carolina man, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for defrauding streaming services of over $8 million using AI-generated songs and fake streams. Smith created hundreds of thousands of AI songs and used thousands of bot accounts to stream them billions of times across platforms including Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music, and YouTube Music. He agreed to forfeit $8,091,843.64 and faces up to five years in prison at sentencing scheduled for July 29, 2026.
What happened
Michael Smith, age 54 from North Carolina, created hundreds of thousands of songs using artificial intelligence and streamed those fake songs billions of times using thousands of bot accounts to make income from streaming royalties.
Smith spread the streams across thousands of accounts to evade detection by streaming services including Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube Music, ultimately acquiring more than $8 million in royalties between 2017 and 2024.
On March 19, 2026, Smith pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York before Judge John G. Koeltl.
Reported impact
Smith diverted millions of dollars in royalties from real, deserving artists and rights holders whose songs were legitimately streamed.
The scheme caused economic harm to multiple music streaming platforms and the legitimate music creators and rights holders whose income was displaced by Smith's fraudulent streaming activity.
Index analysis
Smith's scheme relied on generating fake content and using automated bot networks to simulate legitimate user behavior on streaming platforms, fraudulently creating the appearance of real consumption.
Governance controls
Smith agreed to pay $8,091,843.64 in forfeiture and faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a maximum fine of $250,000.
Sentencing was scheduled for July 29, 2026. The Department of Justice indicated it would not prosecute Smith further but would consider potential tax violations from 2017 to 2024.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.