Prosecutors Want Nearly 4 Years in Prison for Man Behind $8M AI Music Streaming Scam
Federal prosecutors seek at least 46 months in prison for Michael Smith, who ran a six-year AI music streaming fraud that generated over $8 million in royalties.Summary
Manhattan federal prosecutors are urging a judge to sentence Michael Smith, 54, to at least 46 months in prison for orchestrating a six-year AI music streaming fraud that generated more than $8 million in royalties. Smith pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud on March 16, 2026, admitting he used hundreds of thousands of AI-generated tracks and automated bot accounts to inflate streams on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and YouTube Music. Prosecutors say his catalog generated 80.9 million streams from YouTube Music family-plan subscribers in April 2023, compared with 9.3 million for Taylor Swift's entire catalog among the same subscribers that month. They argue the fraud's length and scale justify a sentence within the federal guideline range of 46 to 57 months, rejecting defense requests for probation. Smith's attorneys claim he initially believed his conduct was lawful and sought advice from a music lawyer, but prosecutors point to his lies to distributors and concealment efforts as proof he knew he was committing fraud. Smith agreed to forfeit $8,091,843.64 and is scheduled to be sentenced on October 6, 2026.
(Source：Law Commentary)