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[QUOTE="Queen, post: 88486, member: 27"]
AI streaming scam mastermind cops a plea that could lock him up for years while costing him millions.

Michael Smith's guilty plea
[LIST]
[*]Michael Smith admits conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
[*]Cornelius, North Carolina, man faces up to five years in prison.
[*]He agrees to forfeit over eight million dollars.
[*]Sentencing set for July twenty-nine in New York.
[/LIST]
Fraud scheme breakdown
[LIST]
[*]Smith pumped out thousands of AI-generated fake tracks.
[*]Bots streamed his songs billions of times across platforms.
[*]Amazon Music, Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube Music are targeted.
[*]Operation peaked at over six hundred thousand daily streams.
[/LIST]
Royalties theft impact
[LIST]
[*]Fraudulent payouts exceeded eight million dollars total.
[*]Real artists lost millions in diverted streaming royalties.
[*]Bots spread plays to dodge platform fraud detectors.
[*]AI helped churn out hundreds of thousands of songs fast.
[/LIST]
Investigation fallout
[LIST]
[*]Mechanical Licensing Collective spotted suspicious volume early.
[*]MLC challenged Smith and blocked improper payouts.
[*]DOJ credits MLC for key role in fraud detection.
[*]Unnamed co-conspirators aided AI track production.
[/LIST]
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