If a scientist just completely "made up" their references 10 years ago, that's a fraudster. Not just dishonesty but outright academic fraud.

If a scientist does it now, they just blame it on AI. But the consequences should remain the same. This is not an honest mistake.

People that do this - even once - should be banned for life. They put their name on the thing. But just like with plagiarism, falsifying data and academic cheating, somehow a large subset of people thinks it's okay to cheat and lie, and another subset gives them chance after chance to misbehave like they're some kind of children. But these are adults and anyone doing this simply lacks morals and will never improve.

And yes, I've published in academia and I've never cheated or plagiarized in my life. That should not be a drawback.