diff --git a/inference-engine/tests/functional/plugin/shared/src/hetero/synthetic.cpp b/inference-engine/tests/functional/plugin/shared/src/hetero/synthetic.cpp
index f0cc2f9e807..6feb3fde22e 100644
--- a/inference-engine/tests/functional/plugin/shared/src/hetero/synthetic.cpp
+++ b/inference-engine/tests/functional/plugin/shared/src/hetero/synthetic.cpp
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ void HeteroSyntheticTest::SetUp() {
         --num;
     }
     function = std::get<Function>(param)._function;
-    functionRefs = function;
+    functionRefs = ngraph::clone_function(*function);
 }
 
 void HeteroSyntheticTest::TearDown() {