NEWS: FinCEN warns criminals are using AI for ‘financially motivated’ sextortion

Regulatory Watch News

• 

  Justice Department Files Case to Revoke U.S. Citizenship of Mastermind Behind Multimillion-Dollar Tax Fraud Scheme

  US Department of Justice

  March 18, 2026

  Today, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it has filed and served a civil denaturalization complaint in the U.S. District Court in Baltimore, Maryland, against Emmanuel Oluwatosin Kazeem, a native of Nigeria who organized a vast conspiracy to steal identities and file fraudulent tax returns. In 2017, he was convicted of 19 counts of mail and wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and sentenced to 15 years in prison. But in 2024, then-President Biden commuted his sentence after only six years.

• 

  INTERPOL-UNODC global summit ends with call to action against fraud surge

  Interpol

  March 18, 2026

  VIENNA, Austria - The Global Fraud Summit has closed with calls for stronger global cooperation to tackle what is one of the fastest-growing types of crime, affecting millions of individuals and businesses around the world. Driven by rapid technological advances, fraud has evolved into an increasingly sophisticated and highly organized global enterprise. Technology was a central focus of discussions during the two-day (16 and 17 March) event, with tools such as generative AI, including deepfake videos, images, audio and chatbots, making it easier for criminals to impersonate trusted people and defraud victims.

• 

  Latvia: 20 suspects detained over €1.5 million IT procurement fraud

  European Public Prosecutor's Office

  March 18, 2026

  (Luxembourg, 18 March 2026) – The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) in Riga (Latvia) has dismantled an organised crime group involving public officials suspected of wrongdoing in public procurement procedures for the acquisition of IT systems by state institutions. Twenty suspects were detained yesterday, including public officials. A total of 57 house and company searches were carried out yesterday with the support of Europol, the Economic Crime Combating Department and other Latvian law enforcement agencies. A substantial amount of evidence was seized, including from the State Digital Development Agency.