Morning Edition · Friday, October 9, 2026Published at 2:20 AM EDT · New York

Judge Sentences Michael Smith to 18 Months in First Federal AI Music Streaming Fraud Case

Prosecutors had asked for at least 46 months for the scheme, which used hundreds of thousands of AI-generated songs and up to 10,000 bot accounts to collect more than $8 million in royalties.

On October 6, US District Judge John G. Koeltl in Manhattan sentenced Michael Smith, a North Carolina man, to 18 months in prison. Smith had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, a charge with a maximum of five years. The judge…