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High reported severity Criminal Charges

Taiwan: a romance-fraud ring used AI voice-changing software so members sounded like young women on dating platforms; prosecutors say more than 20,000 people were defrauded of over NT$900 million and indicted 57 people in September 2026

According to the Taipei District Prosecutors Office and Taiwan's Criminal Investigation Bureau, as reported by the Liberty Times and Public Television Service (PTS) on 2 September 2026, a fraud ring set up in 2022 by a married couple ran fake romances on dating platforms. An engineer in the ring built AI voice-changing software that loaded the voiceprints of 22 women working for the ring as hostesses into its chat system, so that any member, male staff and older women included, spoke to targets in a sweet young woman's voice. Members pressed the people they courted to buy expensive health supplements and gifts and to pay pocket money, moving costs and beauty courses, and the ring sent hostesses to meet some targets, in some cases for sex, to keep them paying. Prosecutors put the victims at more than 20,000 and the proceeds at more than NT$900 million since 2022, and say many victims are still living in debt. After searches in May and July 2026, the Taipei District Prosecutors Office indicted 57 defendants on 2 September 2026 under the Fraud Crime Hazard Prevention Act and asked for sentences of 25 and 18 years for the couple.

AI system
Unidentified voice-cloning tool
Occurred
2022
Reported
2 September 2026
Event location
Taiwan
What the AI did
Communicated with the person
Reported harm
Financial Loss
Whose AI use
Someone else’s AI use
Setting
Relationships · Finance
Evidence
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account
3 claims: 3 reported. 3 open questions
People reported harmed
At least 20000 people

AI system as recorded: AI voice-changing software built by an engineer in the fraud ring, which converted members' voices into a young woman's voice using the voiceprints of 22 hostesses (per prosecutors and police); investigators also seized 67 computers described as holding AI deepfake programs

What Happened

The scheme. The Liberty Times (2 September 2026) reports the Taipei District Prosecutors Office's findings: from 2022 a married couple ran a romance-fraud ring that brought in an AI system to turn the voices of male employees and older women into a sweet young woman's voice. Members targeted well-off people on dating platforms, began online romances and asked them for expensive goods. Investigators say the ring's core engineer used AI voice-changing software to load the voiceprints of 22 women who worked as hostesses into the chat system, so that anyone chatting through it, man or woman, came out sounding like a young woman. PTS quotes the deputy head of the Criminal Investigation Bureau's Fourth Investigation Brigade as saying that, besides the AI voice software, the ring sent its hostesses out on dates with victims to gain their trust.

How money was taken. Investigators describe a gradual approach. New contacts were first sold expensive health supplements such as antrodia (niu zhang zhi) to test their means, then courted online and asked for gifts such as hair dryers and phones, pocket money, moving costs and beauty courses (Liberty Times; PTS). Some victims paid for vaccinations and bridal-styling courses for the women. To add credibility the ring arranged sexual transactions between hostesses and some targets. Prosecutors put the victims at more than 20,000 and the criminal proceeds at more than NT$900 million since 2022, and say that many victims went into debt and several are still struggling with debts.

Investigation and charges. Searches in May and July 2026 by the Criminal Investigation Bureau under the prosecutors' direction seized supercars, 47 luxury watches, up to NT$300 million in property and accounts, and 67 computers holding what investigators call AI deepfake programs. The Liberty Times also reports prosecutors' finding that the alleged leader imposed sexual punishments on employees who missed sales targets. On 2 September 2026 the office indicted 57 defendants and asked for sentences of 25 and 18 years for the couple.

What is not known. The reports do not say how many of the 20,000-plus victims heard the AI-converted voice rather than text chat or in-person meetings, how the total loss is divided among them, or whether the voice software was built on an existing product. Both reports rest on the prosecutors' and police account; no court has ruled.

Reported harm

Prosecutors say more than 20,000 people were defrauded of a combined total exceeding NT$900 million by a romance-fraud ring whose members spoke to targets through AI voice-changing software, and that many victims went into debt (Taipei District Prosecutors Office via the Liberty Times and PTS).

Outcome

Ongoing

Under the direction of the Taipei District Prosecutors Office, the Criminal Investigation Bureau's Fourth Investigation Brigade searched the ring in May and July 2026, seizing Ferrari and McLaren sports cars and 47 luxury watches, freezing real estate and accounts worth up to NT$300 million, and taking 67 computers described as holding AI deepfake programs (Liberty Times). On 2 September 2026 the office concluded its investigation and indicted 57 defendants under the Fraud Crime Hazard Prevention Act and other offences, asking for 25 years for the alleged leader and 18 years for his wife; the case was transferred to the Taipei District Court (Liberty Times; PTS). No verdict is reported.

What remains unknown

  • How many of the more than 20,000 victims heard the AI-converted voice, and how the NT$900 million loss is divided among them.
  • Whether the voice-changing software was built on an existing product or model.
  • Where the victims live, and the court outcome.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. Prosecutors and police say an engineer in the ring built AI voice-changing software that turned members' voices into a young woman's voice in the chat system used with targets (Liberty Times; PTS). The converted voice was a channel through which targets were spoken to (communicated_with). No forensic detail or underlying product is reported.

3 claims: 3 reported. What the statuses mean

Reported From 2022 a romance-fraud ring used AI voice-changing software, built by an engineer in the ring with the voiceprints of 22 hostesses, so that members chatting with targets on dating platforms sounded like young women.

Causal attribution. Prosecutors' and police account relayed by two outlets (one chain); the software's role is their description and no court has ruled.

  • news.ltn.com.tw(opens in new tab) supports · Chinese
    '更導入AI系統，將男員工、大媽的聲音變成甜美女生，在各大交友平台鎖定多金對象，談起網戀，要求對方送高價商品'; '將集團內22名實際從事「公關小姐」的甜美聲紋導入聊天系統中。因此不論男女，只要利用該系統聊天，出來的聲音都變成甜美女聲'
  • news.pts.org.tw(opens in new tab) supports · Chinese
    '警方表示，詐團還有工程師設計「AI變聲軟體」，偽裝成公關小姐要求被害人贈送禮物，甚至索討零用金、搬家費、買美容課程等款項'
Reported Prosecutors and police put the ring's victims at more than 20,000 and its criminal proceeds at more than NT$900 million since 2022, and say many victims went into debt.

Causal attribution. Totals stated by prosecutors and police for the ring as a whole; the reports do not say how many victims heard the AI-converted voice.

Reported After searches in May and July 2026 that seized supercars, 47 watches, up to NT$300 million in property and accounts and 67 computers holding AI deepfake programs, the Taipei District Prosecutors Office indicted 57 defendants on 2 September 2026 and asked for 25- and 18-year sentences for the couple who led the ring.

Causal attribution. Indictment as reported by two outlets; allegations, not a court finding.

  • news.ltn.com.tw(opens in new tab) supports · Chinese
    '台北地檢署於今年5、7月指揮刑事警察局第四大隊第三隊展開搜索，查扣集團購入的法拉利、麥拉倫超跑，以及47支名表，更扣押高達3億元的不動產與帳戶，另外也帶回67台裝有「AI深偽程式」的犯罪電腦'; '首腦夫妻分別被求處25年、18年徒刑'
  • news.pts.org.tw(opens in new tab) supports · Chinese
    '檢方2日偵結，依違反《詐欺犯罪危害防制條例》等罪嫌，起訴57名被告'

Sources

2 sources inspected, from 1 underlying account. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.

How the sources were read, and where the events happened

Read live in Traditional Chinese on 2026-10-02 (Liberty Times staff reporters, Taipei, 2 September 2026); reports the prosecutors' indictment findings. Researcher translation. Applies to s1.

Read live in Traditional Chinese on 2026-10-02 (PTS, 2 September 2026); reports police and prosecutors' findings and quotes a Criminal Investigation Bureau officer. Same official chain as s1. Researcher translation. Applies to s2.

Event countries: Taiwan. Affected-person countries: Unknown. Court countries: Taiwan.

The ring was investigated by Taiwan's Criminal Investigation Bureau and indicted by the Taipei District Prosecutors Office, with the case transferred to the Taipei District Court (Liberty Times; PTS). The reports do not state where the victims live.

Reviewed for publication 2026-10-02: Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as a core case: a fraud ring spoke to targets through AI voice-changing software in fake romances that prosecutors say defrauded more than 20,000 people. The account is the Taipei District Prosecutors Office's indictment as reported by the Liberty Times and PTS. The accused are named in reports and not named here.

People described

More than 20,000 people met on dating platforms who were courted and pressed to pay for goods, gifts and fees; investigators say they included naive men with little romantic experience and highly paid engineers (none named)

People reported harmed in this case

At least 20000 people

0 AI participants · 20000 other people harmed

Prosecutors and police put the ring's victims at more than 20,000 (被害人超過2萬人; Liberty Times and PTS), counted as a documented minimum of 20,000 people defrauded. The figure covers the ring's victims since 2022; the reports do not say how many of them heard the AI-converted voice. The 22 hostesses whose voiceprints were used and the employees reportedly punished by the leader are ring members and are not counted.

Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.

Tags

#voice-changing#romance-scam#dating-platforms#fraud-ring#taiwan#taipei#indictment

Cite this case

Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.

APA

NOPE. (2026). Taiwan: a romance-fraud ring used AI voice-changing software so members sounded like young women on dating platforms; prosecutors say more than 20,000 people were defrauded of over NT$900 million and indicted 57 people in September 2026. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2022-taiwan-ai-voice-changer-romance-fraud-ring-20000-victims-nt900m-57-indicted

BibTeX

@misc{2022_taiwan_ai_voice_changer_romance_fraud_ring_20000_victims_nt900m_57_indicted,
  title = {Taiwan: a romance-fraud ring used AI voice-changing software so members sounded like young women on dating platforms; prosecutors say more than 20,000 people were defrauded of over NT\$900 million and indicted 57 people in September 2026},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2022-taiwan-ai-voice-changer-romance-fraud-ring-20000-victims-nt900m-57-indicted}
}

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