The fake listeners, though, aren't the same thing. Bots don't buy products.
After these details emerged, lawsuits were filed under various U.S. consumer fraud protection laws against Arista Records ... settlement was approved; it refunded those who attended concerts as well as those who bought Milli Vanilli recordings. An estimated 10 million buyers were eligible to claim a refund, and they could keep the refunded recordings.
BoneyM went on to have a pretty big career, including "Rivers of Babylon/Brown Girl in the Ring", which was a hit all over Europe, reaching no.1 in several countries as well as becoming one of the biggest selling singles of all time in the UK.
Years after BoneyM, he did the same thing with Milli Vanilli
If it ain't broke, don't fix it ? :-D