They were scammers. But they weren't going to scam just anyone. They were going to scam Big Tech. And they almost got away with it.
Earlier this month, federal prosecutors accused a North Carolina man of stealing royalty payments from music streaming platforms for seven years. He allegedly used artificial intelligence to create songs by fake bands and then play those songs to get paid.
The incident resembles a scheme between 2013 and 2015 when a Lithuanian man bilked Google and Facebook out of more than $100 million before getting caught.
Endless Thread's Ben Brock Johnson and Dean Russell bring two stories of grifts gone wrong.
*****
Credits: This episode was produced and co-hosted by Ben Brock Johnson and Dean Russell. Mix and sound design by Emily Jankowski. It was edited by our managing producer, Samata Joshi.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.