U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York

Billion-stream ‘ghost artist’ exposed: North Carolina man pleads guilty in first AI music fraud case, forfeits $8.1 million World News

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March 21, 2026

4 Min Read

It’s a feat most Grammy winners never achieve: billions of streams on the world’s largest platform. But for 54-year-old North Carolina resident Michael Smith, “fans” don’t exist. They are lines of code and the music is…