The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday, Sept. 6, edition that a North Carolina man is accused of using artificial intelligence to create and upload hundreds of thousands of fake songs by fake bands to streaming services. A New York Times dispatch to The Globe reports that he allegedly collected $10-million (U.S.) in royalties through this fraud. The man, a real musician named Michael Smith, is facing charges for stealing royalty payments from digital streaming platforms for seven years. The AI-generated music, attributed to fictitious artists like "Callous Post" and "Calorie Screams," became popular on platforms such as Amazon Music, Apple Music and Spotify. According to prosecutors, Mr. Smith's actions deprived legitimate musicians, songwriters and rights holders of their rightful royalties. Mr. Smith was arrested Wednesday and faces charges, including wire fraud and money-laundering conspiracy. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for each charge. Mr. Smith is the first criminal case involving musical streaming manipulation brought by the office of Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. Prosecutors said Mr. Smith had cut out the human element almost entirely.