Federal prosecutors want Michael Smith jailed for at least 46 months, answering his request last week for probation. Smith was convicted over a scheme that used AI-generated songs and automated streams to collect more than $8 million in royalties, which he already owes in restitution.
His lawyers had argued the fraud was close to victimless because the loss to any single artist was tiny. The government's filing rejects that, calling him the organiser of a years-long scheme that diverted money from songwriters and other rightsholders, and warns that leniency would signal streaming fraud goes unpunished.
Wire fraud carries up to five years. Federal guidelines point to 46 to 57 months, while probation officers suggested about 24. It is the first US criminal case over streaming fraud.
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