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A Charlotte-area man pleaded guilty to using AI to manipulate music streaming platforms billions of times to siphon royalties worth over $8 million, federal authorities said Thursday. They said it’s the first case of its kind in the U.S.

Michael Smith, 54, of Cornelius, in pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud faces a maximum sentence of five years, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced. Smith also agreed to forfeiture of over $8 million.

“Although the songs and listeners were fake, the millions of dollars Smith stole was real. Millions of dollars in royalties that Smith diverted from real, deserving artists and rights holders,” U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement.

Smith’s scheme used automated programs, or “bots,” from 2017 through 2024 to stream songs created with artificial intelligence, according to the September 2024 indictment. He then used the bot accounts to stream those songs billions of times across multiple streaming platforms to boost his royalties.

Smith is scheduled to be sentenced by July 29.

How the AI music streaming fraud worked

Each time a song is streamed on Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify and YouTube Music platforms, the songwriter, musician and other rights holders receive royalty payments. Royalty payments are made proportionately to musicians and songwriters from a pool of funds, according to the federal prosecutor’s office.

Streaming fraud diverts funds from musicians and songwriters whose songs were legitimately streamed by real listeners to those who use automation to falsely create the appearance of legitimate streaming.

To avoid detection by streaming platforms, Smith spread his automated, manipulated streams across thousands of different songs, knowing that concentrating streams on a single track would be flagged, according to the federal prosecutor’s office.

Smith turned to artificial intelligence to create hundreds of thousands of AI-generated songs, which he then used to manipulate streaming counts.

On Oct. 20, 2017, Smith emailed himself a financial breakdown showing he had 52 cloud service accounts, each with 20 bot accounts on streaming platforms, for a total of 1,040 bot accounts, according to the indictment.

At its peak, Smith generated about 661,440 streams per day, resulting in annual royalties to himself exceeding $1.2 million.

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Dell Curry was fighting back happy tears Thursday night.

He knew what was coming. He had known for the past two months or so that the Charlotte Hornets were finally going to retire his No. 30 jersey, that it was forever going to hang in the rafters as a tribute to the team's first pick in the 1988 expansion draft.

And it still took everything he had, in the moment, to keep his emotions in check. The Hornets raised the jersey at halftime of their 130-111 win over the Orlando Magic, and it will eventually hang beside the one that immortalizes the Charlotte tenure of Bobby Phills.

"I can't thank them enough for this. I'm just a country boy from Grottoes, man," Curry said, referencing his Virginia hometown. "I had no idea that this was even happening. I'm just playing basketball because I love it and now to have my jersey in (these) rafters besides Bobby, I cannot explain how grateful, blessed, fortunate I am to be here in this moment."

Curry, currently a TV broadcaster and analyst for the Hornets, was joined by his NBA-playing sons, Stephen and Seth -- both members of the Golden State Warriors -- along with daughter Sydel, wife Nicki, mother Juanita, six grandchildren and a number of team officials, including co-chairmen Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin, president of business operations Shelly Cayette Weston, and president of basketball operations Jeff Peterson.

"Last night at a quiet, intimate family dinner is when it really hit me," Dell Curry said Thursday before the ceremony. "I got a little emotional thinking about it. ... This is a big deal. I understand how big of a deal this is."

He received video tributes from Don Londes, his former high school coach in Fort Defiance, Virginia; former Hornets teammates Larry Johnson, Muggsy Bogues, Glen Rice, Kenny Gattison, Rex Chapman and Tim Kempton; his three children; and longtime broadcast partner Steve Martin.

"A special night for the Curry family," Stephen Curry posted on social media after the ceremony. "The originator is in the rafters forever. Congratulations, Dad."

Dell Curry, 61, spent 10 years of his 16-year career with the Hornets and was the franchise's last original player when he left via free agency after the 1997-98 season. He was the NBA's sixth man of the year winner in 1994, and Charlotte has been the place he has considered home for nearly 40 years.

Curry was involved with Hornets community events and briefly served as an assistant coach in the summer of 2007 before joining the team as a full-time TV color commentator in 2009 alongside original Hornets play-by-play broadcaster Martin. Curry is currently in his 11th season as color commentator for the franchise's second TV voice, Eric Collins, who emceed Thursday night's ceremony.

When Curry left the Hornets in 1998, he was the franchise's all-time leader in games played (701), scoring (9,839 points) and made 3-pointers (929). He remains the Hornets' all-time leader in games played and is second to Kemba Walker in both scoring and made 3-pointers.

"I want to thank all of you fans," Curry told the crowd. "You wrapped your arms around me when I was a 24-year-old kid. And you've supported me and my family ever since."

The Hornets hosted a private pregame reception attended by family, friends and other officials, including North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein -- who presented Curry with the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, one of North Carolina's highest civilian honors. A donation was also made to the Boys & Girls Club of America in Curry's honor.

"Dell Curry is synonymous with the Charlotte Hornets, he truly epitomizes what it means to have Hornets DNA," Schnall and Plotkin said in a statement. "Dell's impact extends far beyond basketball. His excellence on the court, his continued leadership, and his deep connection to this community make him a foundational figure in our franchise's history.

"Retiring his jersey is a tribute to everything he has meant -- and continues to mean -- to this city, this team and to the Carolinas."

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - Showers and storms could become severe in the Carolinas on Sunday and Monday, and could bring hazards to the region.

Potentially severe storms were in the forecast for Monday, March 16 across the Carolinas. The Charlotte region was expected to see the most impacts during the late morning on Monday and throughout the afternoon.

The thunderstorms could bring downpours, lightning, damaging winds, and isolated tornadoes to the region. Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and power lines, potentially leading to power outages.

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Officials were urging Carolinians to prepare for potentially severe weather.

During the severe weather, the National Weather Service could issue a tornado watch or tornado warning for an area, should tornadoes become a concern. Here’s how the two alerts are different.

A tornado watch is issued when a tornado is possible, but not exactly imminent.

A watch happens when the weather conditions are right for a tornado to form.

When a tornado watch is issued, people are urged to prepare for the possibility of a tornado. That means you should stay indoors, make sure your devices are charged, and have an emergency plan in place.

A tornado warning is issued when a tornado is imminent -- meaning it has been spotted either on the ground or on radar.

A tornado warning should be treated as an emergency. If a tornado warning is issued for your area, you should act immediately and move to the safest area indoors.

Areas in the center of a building, or in the basement, are safer during a tornado. Avoid windows wherever possible, and be sure to get down low and protect your head.

Showers and storms were in the forecast Sunday, March 15 into Monday, March 16. Showers were happening throughout the region on Sunday evening.

By around 8 a.m. Monday, waves of showers and storms will arrive in western-central North Carolina, and will move eastward. Showers and storms were expected to last through early-to-mid-afternoon for the Charlotte region, including parts of South Carolina.

Those storms could produce dangerous winds with gusts around 60 mph. Isolated tornadoes will be possible due to the storms.

If a tornado warning is issued in your area, take action immediately and find appropriate shelter. If a tornado watch is issued, that means a tornado is possible and that you should prepare.

Powerful winds could down tree limbs and power lines, potentially causing power outages during the storms.

Following Monday’s storms, temperatures will drop and some parts of the mountains will briefly see snow. Springlike weather will return later this week.

Download the free on your mobile device to receive weather alerts and to get the latest forecast on the go. You can also catch the latest forecast on WBTV’s streaming app -- find it in the app store on your smart TV or streaming device.

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The video above is a live stream of WBTV and affiliated programming, and may not be directly related to the article below.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - Multiple school districts in the Charlotte region were adjusting their schedules for Monday due to potentially severe weather in the forecast.

Waves of potentially severe thunderstorms could bring dangerous winds and isolated tornadoes to the Carolinas between Sunday night and Monday, March 16. Some school districts were closing due to the forecast.

Tip: When you’re on the closings page, you can sort closings by type. Filter the list by “school” to see only school closings.

Showers and storms were in the forecast Sunday, March 15 into Monday, March 16. Showers were happening throughout the region on Sunday evening.

By around 8 a.m. Monday, waves of showers and storms will arrive in western-central North Carolina, and will move eastward. Showers and storms were expected to last through early-to-mid-afternoon for the Charlotte region, including parts of South Carolina.

Those storms could produce dangerous winds with gusts around 60 mph. Isolated tornadoes will be possible due to the storms.

If a tornado warning is issued in your area, take action immediately and find appropriate shelter. If a tornado watch is issued, that means a tornado is possible and that you should prepare.

Powerful winds could down tree limbs and power lines, potentially causing power outages during the storms.

Following Monday’s storms, temperatures will drop and some parts of the mountains will briefly see snow. Springlike weather will return later this week.

Download the free on your mobile device to receive weather alerts and to get the latest forecast on the go. You can also catch the latest forecast on WBTV’s streaming app -- find it in the app store on your smart TV or streaming device.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - The forecast is still on track for multiple rounds of strong to severe thunderstorms developing across our area on Monday.

We are going to wrap up this Sunday with some isolated showers. Overnight, the strong cold front that is now moving through the Mississippi Valley will push farther east towards the Carolinas, bringing the first round of showers and thunderstorms into our area before sunrise. As the front nears closer to the Carolinas, expect more thunderstorms to develop across our area throughout the day on Monday. Some storms will be capable of producing damaging winds, hail, and tornadoes.

In between storms, expect gusty winds up to 40mph and temperatures in the 60s.

By tomorrow afternoon, the stormy conditions will wind down, and some much colder will rush into our area behind the cold front. Temperatures will drop from the 60s and 50s into the 20s and teens tomorrow night. Temperatures across the mountains will be cold enough to support a wintry mix of sleet and snow; up to an inch of accumulation will be possible.

On Tuesday, high pressure will build over the southeast, allowing for a very cold St. Patrick’s Day. Tuesday is still on track to be cold and blustery with highs in the 30s and 40s. After Tuesday, the balance of the week looks quiet and dry.

Wednesday and Thursday will be mostly sunny and pleasant with highs in the 50s and 60s. More sunshine and warmer weather can be expected for Friday and next weekend with highs in the mid-70s and minimal chances for rain.

Download the free on your mobile device to receive weather alerts and to get the latest forecast on the go. You can also catch the latest forecast on WBTV’s streaming app -- find it in the app store on your smart TV or streaming device.