Two hospital systems allegedly lost nearly $7.8 million in an international fraud scheme in which criminals used advanced technology to impersonate CEOs and attorneys, tricking employees into transferring millions of dollars to fraudulent bank accounts.
Three foreign nationals have been arrested and charged in connection with the alleged scheme, which stole more than $129 million from companies worldwide between 2024 and 2026, according to the Justice Department.
Among the victims were a Missouri-based hospital system that allegedly lost $4.83 million and a California-based hospital system that lost $2.97 million. Federal prosecutors did not identify either organization.
According to the indictment, the defendants and their co-conspirators used technology described by prosecutors as “super intelligence” to mimic the voices and images of corporate executives and attorneys at major international law firms. The alleged scheme typically began with criminals contacting employees while posing as their organization’s CEO. They would claim to need assistance with a confidential financial transaction, sometimes using impersonated voices or images during calls to make the request appear legitimate.
Employees were then directed to contact attorneys purportedly working on the transaction, according to prosecutors. The fraudsters allegedly impersonated those lawyers as well, creating another layer of credibility before directing employees to wire substantial sums to accounts controlled by the conspiracy. Once the money was transferred, the defendants and their co-conspirators allegedly converted the funds into cryptocurrency to conceal their origins and distributed the proceeds among themselves.
The scheme involved bank accounts in multiple countries, including the U.S., Spain, Portugal, Greece, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Austria, Slovakia and China.
Federal prosecutors identified the three defendants as Jacob Soall, 41, of Spain and the United Kingdom; Sharon Hazan, 54, of Israel; and Guy Sheetrit, 42, of Israel and the United Arab Emirates. The defendants were arrested separately between June and September in Spain and the United Kingdom. Extradition requests remain pending.
Each faces seven charges, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering offenses. Several charges carry maximum prison sentences of 20 years.
