Oct 6 2026
First US AI streaming-fraud case ends in an 18-month sentence
POLICY
Original reporting
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Michael Smith sentenced to 18 months plus $8.09 million forfeiture for streaming AI-generated songs billions of times with bots from 2017 to 2024; prosecutors had asked at least 46 months. https://www.billboard.com/pro/ai-music-streaming-fraud-sentence-man-18-months-prison-scam/
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Michael Smith
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