{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-11-07T02:56:14.479Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"voice-cloning","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"core","evidence":"","year":"2020","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":2,"coverage":{"cases":2,"countries":2,"languages":1,"unknownLocation":0,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":0,"lawsuits":1,"regulatory":1,"minors":0,"coreRelations":2,"contextualRelations":0,"mixedRelations":0,"unknownRelations":0,"relationPending":0,"relationUnknown":0},"countingNote":"Distinct public cases in this selection. People counts apply within individual cases only; cross-case person overlap has not been resolved. No population incidence estimate.","affectedCountNote":"Interpret person counts with affectedCountStatus and the reported effects. Unquantified zeros are placeholders, not a measured zero.","source":"AI incidents","publisher":"NOPE","url":"https://nope.net/incidents","license":"CC BY 4.0"},"incidents":[{"id":"2020-us-voice-actors-allege-lovo-sold-ai-clones-of-voices-recorded-for-research-court-lets-claims-proceed","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'In May 2020 an anonymous Fiverr user'; 'later identified by Lovo’s counsel'; 'These are test scripts for radio ads. They will not be disclosed externally'; 'Lehrman was paid $1,200 for his work.'; 'Lovo paid her $400 for her work'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'Lehrman was allegedly told his voice would be used only for a “research project” while Sage was told her voice would be used only for “test scripts for radio ads”'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"Lovo representatives on Fiverr hired Sage in October 2019 and Lehrman in May 2020 for voice recordings, telling Lehrman they were for research purposes only and Sage that they were test scripts for radio ads that would not be disclosed externally; he was paid $1,200 and she $400.","causal_attribution":"Plaintiffs’ allegations as recounted by the court and relayed by the press; not tested at trial."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'alleging that Lovo used artificial intelligence'; 'as part of its subscription service under the stage name'; 'Sage discovered that Lovo had created a clone of her voice named'; 'the Berkeley SkyDeck Demo Day Spring 2020'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'The actors later found Lovo was offering AI-generated versions of their voices for sale as'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The plaintiffs allege that Lovo used the recordings with its AI software to create clones of their voices, marketed Lehrman's as \"Kyle Snow\" and offered Sage's as \"Sally Coleman\" to subscribers, and used a side-by-side comparison of Sage's real and cloned voice in a 2020 investor pitch.","causal_attribution":"Plaintiffs’ allegations; the AI generation is the core harm alleged."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'listened to an episode of the Deadline Strike Talk podcast narrated'; 'a paid subscription to Lovo.'; 'was virtually identical to Mr. Lehrman'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The plaintiffs say they learned of the use when they heard a podcast episode narrated in part by a Lovo-generated voice, which the podcast's MIT partner confirmed was made with a paid Lovo subscription and which they and people who heard it say was virtually identical to Lehrman's voice.","causal_attribution":"Plaintiffs’ allegations, including what MIT and listeners told them."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'On August 18, 2023, counsel for Plaintiffs sent a cease-and-desist letter to Lovo'; 'fictitious characters'; 'had been created using the voice recordings obtained from Lehrman and Sage through Fiverr in 2020 and'; 'fully permissioned'; 'Plaintiffs dispute this'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"According to the complaint, Lovo replied to an 18 August 2023 cease-and-desist letter that the characters had been created using the recordings obtained through Fiverr, that its use was fully permissioned, and that it had removed the characters; the plaintiffs dispute the removal.","causal_attribution":"Lovo’s letter as quoted in the complaint and recounted by the court; Lovo contests that the use was unauthorised."},{"id":"c5","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'OPINION AND ORDER re: 27 MOTION to Dismiss the Amended Class Action Complaint filed by Lovo, Inc.'; 'based on the use of her original voice recording, and as to Plaintiffs'; 'contract claims, New York Civil Rights Law claims, and New York General Business Law claims'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'claims for misappropriation of a voice, like the ones here, may be properly asserted under Sections 50 and 51 of the New York Civil Rights Law'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'In his July 10 decision, SDNY Judge Paul Oetken granted in part and denied in part Lovo’s motion to dismiss'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"On 10 July 2025 the court granted Lovo's motion to dismiss in part and denied it in part, letting the New York Civil Rights Law, General Business Law and contract claims, and Sage's copyright claim over her original recording, proceed, and dismissing the training-based copyright claims with leave to amend.","causal_attribution":"The court’s own order; it decides legal sufficiency, not the truth of the allegations."},{"id":"c6","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'SUGGESTION OF BANKRUPTCY upon the record as to defendant Lovo, Inc.'; 'In light of the bankruptcy filing noted at ECF 65, this case is hereby stayed.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Lovo filed a suggestion of bankruptcy on 27 May 2026 and the court stayed the case on 28 May 2026.","causal_attribution":"Docket entries."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Lovo Inc., which was built to do just that, has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"TheStreet reports that Lovo's bankruptcy filing is a Chapter 7 case.","causal_attribution":"A news report of the bankruptcy chapter; the bankruptcy court record was not inspected."}],"effects":[{"label":"voice actors allege their voices were cloned with AI from recordings made for promised internal use and sold without consent","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.621575/gov.uscourts.nysd.621575.45.0_2.pdf","kind":"court_record","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-23 (HTTP 200). Opinion and Order of 10 July 2025; the background section recounts the amended complaint, presumed true for the motion.","independence_group":"lehrman-v-lovo-litigation"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/68535780/lehrman-v-lovo-inc/","kind":"court_record","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-23 (HTTP 200). Docket entries as listed on CourtListener (RECAP), latest entry 30 July 2026.","independence_group":"lehrman-v-lovo-litigation"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.silicon.co.uk/e-regulation/legal/actor-ai-lawsuit-621581","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-23 (HTTP 200). Report of the 10 July 2025 ruling relaying the complaint and the plaintiffs’ lawyer.","independence_group":"lehrman-v-lovo-litigation"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.thefashionlaw.com/a-lawsuit-over-cloned-voices-poses-first-of-its-kind-legal-questions-over-ai/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-23 (HTTP 200). Legal-news analysis of the 10 July 2025 ruling.","independence_group":"lehrman-v-lovo-litigation"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/general/ai-voice-cloning-firm-lovo-inc-collapses-in-chapter-7-bankruptcy/ar-AA260icJ","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-23 by verifier mix12 (an AI agent) from MSN's syndicated copy of the TheStreet article (assets.msn.com content API, HTTP 200; the thestreet.com page returned HTTP 403). It dates the stay to 11 June 2026, which differs from the docket's 28 May 2026 entry; the docket date is used.","independence_group":"thestreet-lovo-bankruptcy"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["work","privacy","justice"],"unknowns":["When the plaintiffs first heard the podcast and when Lovo first offered each clone to subscribers.","How many productions used the cloned voices; the plaintiffs' estimate rests on Lovo's YouTube material.","Whether the voices remained available after Lovo said it removed them.","Lovo's own factual account in its briefs, which were not inspected.","The outcome of the pending motion on the training-based copyright claim and of Lovo's bankruptcy."],"geography":{"basis":"The alleged uses described include an investor pitch at the Berkeley SkyDeck Demo Day and a podcast produced with MIT, both in the United States, so the event is placed in the US. The opinion says the plaintiffs live and work in New York, recorded as the affected persons' country. The court is the Southern District of New York.","court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (depicted_or_impersonated): two named voice actors allege, in a suit whose voice-misappropriation and contract claims a federal court let proceed on 10 July 2025, that Lovo used AI to clone their voices from recordings made for promised internal use and sold the clones. One source chain, the litigation record, read in the opinion, the docket and two reports; all facts are attributed allegations.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-23"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The complaint, as recounted by the court, says Lovo's AI text-to-speech software produced clones of the two actors' voices from their recordings and that Lovo sold them as \"Kyle Snow\" and \"Sally Coleman\"; Lovo's reply to the cease-and-desist letter, as quoted there, says the characters were created using those recordings, and the podcast's MIT partner is said to have confirmed that the narration was generated with Lovo. The generated voices imitated the actors (depicted_or_impersonated), and the harm alleged is that use without their consent. These are allegations the court presumed true; Lovo disputes that the use was unauthorised.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Voice actors allege AI voice firm Lovo sold clones of voices they recorded for research use; US court lets publicity, contract and consumer claims proceed","summary":"Voice-over actors Paul Lehrman and Linnea Sage allege in a proposed class action in the Southern District of New York that Lovo, a text-to-speech company, hired them through Fiverr in 2019 and 2020 for recordings it said were for internal research or test scripts, then used its AI software to make and sell clones of their voices under the names \"Kyle Snow\" and \"Sally Coleman\". According to the complaint as recounted by the court, they learned of it when they heard a podcast narrated in part by a Lovo-generated voice that they say was identical to Lehrman's, and Lovo answered their cease-and-desist letter by saying the characters were created from those recordings and that its use was \"fully permissioned\". On 10 July 2025 Judge J. Paul Oetken dismissed most federal trademark and copyright claims but let their New York Civil Rights Law, consumer-protection and contract claims, and Sage's copyright claim over her original recording, proceed. The case was stayed on 28 May 2026 after Lovo filed a suggestion of bankruptcy. The allegations have not been tested at trial.","incidentDate":"2020-01-01","incidentKind":"ongoing_experience","incidentDatePrecision":"year","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2024-05-16","aiSystem":"Lovo's AI text-to-speech subscription software, which the complaint (as recounted by the court) says Lovo calls \"Generator\" or \"Genny\" and markets as able to clone real voices; the voices at issue were sold as \"Kyle Snow\" and \"Sally Coleman\"","aiProduct":"Lovo Genny (reported)","aiCompany":"Lovo, Inc.","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["exploitation_or_abuse"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Two voice actors allege that Lovo turned recordings they made for promised internal use into AI clones of their voices that it sold and used commercially without their consent; a federal court let their voice-misappropriation, consumer and contract claims proceed.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":2,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"Two people, the named plaintiffs whose voices the complaint says were cloned (court opinion). The proposed voice-actor class is not counted because no other member is identified. Exact 2.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"US","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"lawsuit_ongoing","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.621575/gov.uscourts.nysd.621575.45.0_2.pdf","primarySourceLabel":"Lehrman v. Lovo, Inc., S.D.N.Y. Opinion and Order, 10 July 2025 (ECF 45)","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-23T03:10:32.11919+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-23T03:10:32.11919+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["voice-cloning","text-to-speech","voice-actors","right-of-publicity","lawsuit","new-york","depicted-or-impersonated"]},{"id":"2020-hong-kong-branch-manager-made-transfers-after-call-in-cloned-director-voice-uae-investigators-say","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"In early 2020, a branch manager of a Japanese company in Hong Kong received a call from a man whose voice he recognized—the director of his parent business.; so he needed to authorize some transfers to the tune of $35 million; The manager, believing everything appeared legitimate, began making the transfers.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"In early 2020 a branch manager of a Japanese company in Hong Kong received a call from a man whose voice he recognised as the director of his parent business, who said transfers of about $35 million were needed for an acquisition, and the manager began making the transfers.","causal_attribution":"Forbes's account of the UAE court document; the parties are not named."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"one in which fraudsters had used “deep voice” technology to clone the director’s speech, according to a court document unearthed by Forbes; involving at least 17 individuals, which sent the pilfered money to bank accounts across the globe.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"Dubai investigators have revealed that the crooks “used ‘deep voice’ technology to simulate the voice of the director.”","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"According to the UAE's court document as reported, the fraudsters used 'deep voice' technology to clone the director's speech, and the UAE believes the scheme involved at least 17 people who sent the money to bank accounts around the world.","causal_attribution":"The investigators' account in the court document, relayed by two outlets from one origin; the technical basis is not disclosed."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"has sought American investigators’ help in tracing $400,000 of stolen funds that went into U.S.-based accounts held by Centennial Bank; The Dubai Public Prosecution Office, which is leading the investigation","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The UAE, with the Dubai Public Prosecution Office leading the investigation, sought US investigators' help in tracing $400,000 of the stolen funds that went into accounts at Centennial Bank.","causal_attribution":"Forbes's report of the court document."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Cybercriminals cloned the voice of a company director in the U.A.E. to steal as much as $35 million; UPDATE: After publication, the U.A.E. Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation contacted Forbes to note that the affected company was an unnamed Japanese business, though the Dubai investigators were leading the probe.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Forbes reports that as much as $35 million was stolen, and after publication updated the article to say the affected company was an unnamed Japanese business, following contact from the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs.","causal_attribution":"Forbes's own reporting and its correction note."}],"effects":[{"label":"a company's branch manager began transfers of about $35 million after a call in the cloned voice of the parent business's director","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2021/10/14/huge-bank-fraud-uses-deep-fake-voice-tech-to-steal-millions/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-22 from Internet Archive captures of 2022 and 2025 (the live site returned HTTP 403); the 2025 capture shows the article as updated on 2 May 2023. Reports a UAE court document; no translation needed.","independence_group":"forbes-uae-court-document"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://gizmodo.com/bank-robbers-in-the-middle-east-reportedly-cloned-someo-1847863805","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read live in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-22 (HTTP 200). Same-day relay of the Forbes report quoting the court document; its description of a UAE bank predates Forbes's corrections. No translation needed.","independence_group":"forbes-uae-court-document"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["finance","work"],"unknowns":["How the investigators established that the voice was cloned with AI; the court document's technical basis is not reported.","When the call took place: Forbes says early 2020, while Gizmodo, relaying the same court document on 14 October 2021, says it took place 'last January'.","How much money was actually lost; Forbes says as much as $35 million.","Where the director whose voice was cloned is based; Forbes's subtitle places him in the UAE while the updated text describes the parent business of a Japanese company.","Whether anyone was arrested or charged, and whether any funds were recovered.","Which tool was used to clone the voice."],"geography":{"basis":"Forbes's updated article places the deceived branch manager of a Japanese company in Hong Kong; the UAE investigated because the heist affected entities there. No harmed person is counted, so no affected-person country is recorded. The court document is the UAE's request for American investigators' help over funds sent to US accounts, which Gizmodo says brought the case into the American judicial system, so the court country is US; the court itself is not named.","court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":["HK"],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (communicated_with, depicted_or_impersonated): a UAE court document reported by Forbes says fraudsters used 'deep voice' technology to clone a company director's voice, and the cloned voice's call led a Hong Kong branch manager to begin transfers of about $35 million. The attribution is the investigating authorities'; its technical basis is undisclosed. No person is named.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-22"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The UAE's court document, as reported by Forbes, says the fraudsters used 'deep voice' technology to clone the director's speech; the UAE investigators led the inquiry, but how they established the cloning is not disclosed. The cloned voice spoke to the branch manager (communicated_with) in the person of the parent business's director (depicted_or_impersonated), and the account connects that call to the transfers.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with","depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"UAE investigators say fraudsters cloned a company director's voice to have a Hong Kong branch manager transfer up to $35 million in early 2020","summary":"According to a court document reported by Forbes, in which the United Arab Emirates sought US investigators' help, fraudsters used 'deep voice' technology to clone the voice of a company director. In early 2020 a branch manager of a Japanese company in Hong Kong received a call from a man whose voice he recognised as the director of the parent business, who said an acquisition needed transfers of about $35 million; emails from the supposed director and a lawyer confirmed the details, and the manager began making the transfers. Forbes reports that as much as $35 million was stolen. The UAE, whose Dubai Public Prosecution Office led the investigation, believes at least 17 people were involved and asked for help tracing $400,000 sent to US accounts. No arrests or recovery are reported.","incidentDate":"2020-01-01","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"year","exposurePattern":"single_interaction","reportedDate":"2021-10-14","aiSystem":"'Deep voice' technology used to clone a company director's voice, according to a UAE court document reported by Forbes (tool not named)","aiProduct":"Unidentified voice-cloning tool","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["financial_loss"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"According to a UAE court document reported by Forbes, a cloned voice of a parent company's director led a Hong Kong branch manager to begin transfers of about $35 million, and as much as $35 million was stolen.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"unquantified","affectedCountEvidence":"The loss fell on the company; the sources describe the branch manager as the person deceived but report no personal loss or other harm to him or anyone else, so no person is counted (zero placeholders).","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"HK","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"investigation_opened","outcomeStatus":"unknown","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2021/10/14/huge-bank-fraud-uses-deep-fake-voice-tech-to-steal-millions/","primarySourceLabel":"Forbes, 14 October 2021 (updated 2 May 2023): Fraudsters cloned company director's voice in $35 million heist, police find","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-22T03:19:19.150851+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-22T03:19:19.150851+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["voice-cloning","ceo-fraud","bank-transfer-fraud","uae-investigation","hong-kong","depicted-or-impersonated"]}]}