Attorneys for streaming fraudster Michael Smith request probation rather than prison time for their client, downplaying the severity of his crimes.
Michael Smith, the man who generated millions by mass-uploading AI-generated songs and garnering billions of plays, has pled guilty to a single count of wire fraud and was forced to pay over $8 million in restitution. Now, his attorneys request no prison time for their client, arguing that his crimes had a minimal impact on real artists’ royalties—and that the major labels are doing far worse to them.
In their sentencing memorandum filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Smith’s lawyers argue that his crimes caused only “tiny, immeasurable losses” split across millions of songwriters and artists. Their filing further argues that major corporate entities engage in streaming fraud at a systemic level, and sentencing one man for his crimes will have no impact on the global issue.
“The effect each individual stream has on every other artist’s share of the total streaming pool is not akin to a drop in the proverbial bucket—it is a drop in an ocean. Accordingly, no individual artist or songwriter suffered any perceptible harm from Mr. Smith’s conduct,” the filing asserts.
“Furthermore, streaming fraud is a systemic problem rooted in the fundamental structure of the digital royalty system itself. No custodial sentence imposed upon an individual American defendant can eliminate the broader incentives that drive billions of dollars in fraudulent activity worldwide.”
Smith pleaded guilty in March to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. Federal sentencing guidelines call for between 46 and 57 months in Smith’s particular case; the presentence report from the U.S. Probation Office recommended a shorter sentence of 24 months.
His lawyers ask the judge to take into account Smith’s lack of a criminal record, his history of good deeds, and the impact a two-year prison term would have on his family.
Smith was due to be sentenced in July, but no sentencing has yet taken place, and no new date has appeared on the public docket. However, the sentence he ultimately receives will set a precedent as the first in the U.S. for AI-assisted streaming fraud.
