US Department of Justice's first streaming fraud case: fraudsters sentenced for using 10,000 bot accounts and AI songs to fake Taylor Swift play counts

Smith was sentenced to 18 months in prison and must forfeit 8,091,843.64 dollars in illegal proceeds for using about 10,000 bot accounts and AI-generated songs to fake streaming play counts and defraud royalties. The DOJ called this the first case of its kind, noting that his actions diluted the platform royalty pool and harmed the earnings of real artists; his lawyer sought probation on the grounds that the defendant did not actually hold 8 million dollars and had obtained a record company job, while the DOJ argued for a heavier sentence as a deterrent citing continued deceptive means and lying.