Michael Smith pleaded guilty to using AI-generated songs and automated bot accounts to fraudulently collect over $10 million in streaming royalties from platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and YouTube Music. He and co-conspirators used VPNs and thousands of bot accounts to generate billions of fake streams; Smith agreed to forfeit $8,091,843.64 and faces up to five years in prison. #MichaelSmith #Spotify
Keypoints
- Michael Smith pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for inflating streaming numbers.
- He purchased and uploaded hundreds of thousands of AI-generated songs to major streaming platforms.
- Thousands of automated bot accounts were used to generate billions of fake streams.
- The operation used VPNs and multiple cloud accounts to evade anti-fraud detection systems.
- Smith agreed to forfeit $8,091,843.64 and faces a maximum sentence of five years after collecting over $10 million in fraudulent royalties.