A U.S. indictment accuses three men of orchestrating an alleged cross-border scheme that cost companies more than $129 million, using impersonations to induce staff to approve large transfers.
The indictment was unsealed Nov. 5 in the Southern District of New York and names Jacob Soall, Sharon Hazan and Guy Sheetrit. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) says the alleged scheme operated from 2024 to 2026.
Prosecutors allege the group used technology to imitate executives’ voices or images while raising confidential financial transactions with company employees. Members of the group then posed as lawyers, reinforcing the requests and directing employees to send funds to bank accounts they controlled. The proceeds were later converted into cryptocurrency and distributed among the defendants and other alleged co-conspirators, prosecutors say.
The indictment’s itemized losses include $11,578,474 at a U.K.-based financial technology company. It also lists $5,242,747 for a Florida pet food company and $4,829,580 for a Missouri hospital system. Other amounts are $4,639,918 at a Massachusetts mutual fund company, $2,968,497 at a California hospital system and $2,684,580 at a Rhode Island bank.
The DOJ describes Soall as being “of Marbella, Spain, and the United Kingdom,” Hazan as “of Israel” and Sheetrit as “of Israel and the United Arab Emirates.” The indictment says Soall’s role included posing as U.K. attorneys and that he kept a handwritten script labeled “Lawyer Call.” Hazan was convicted of conspiracy to commit bank fraud in the Southern District of New York in 2008.
Each man faces seven counts: wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering charges. The DOJ lists statutory maximums of 20 years for each fraud or money laundering count and two years for each aggravated identity theft count; a judge would determine any sentence.
The DOJ says Soall was arrested in Spain on June 17, Hazan in Spain on Aug. 5, and Sheetrit in the United Kingdom on Sept. 7. Extradition requests for all three were pending when the charges were announced. The charges remain allegations; the indictment does not establish guilt.
