The U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI announced on Monday that they have arrested and charged several individuals involved in a scheme where North Korean workers posed as remote IT employees to secretly work for over 100 U.S. companies.
These workers used fake identities to get hired, stole money and sensitive information, and funneled profits back to North Korea.
According to the DOJ, the North Korean workers used the stolen identities of more than 80 U.S. citizens to apply for remote tech jobs. Once hired, they caused over $3 million in damages, including legal fees, cybersecurity fixes, and other related costs.
The Justice Department also said that the group stole at least $900,000 worth of cryptocurrency from a company in Georgia. In another case, they took sensitive data, source code, and information regulated under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) from a California defense contractor.
The operation led to one arrest, two indictments, and searches of more than 24 locations across the U.S. where laptops used by the North Korean workers were being operated. U.S. officials also seized financial accounts and websites connected to the scam.
Two U.S. citizens, Zhenxing “Danny” Wang and Kejia Wang, were indicted for helping the scheme. Zhenxing Wang was arrested in New Jersey, while Kejia Wang has not been taken into custody. Prosecutors say the two men, along with four unnamed U.S. facilitators, helped the North Koreans by setting up laptops, creating fake financial accounts, and even building fake shell companies to make the workers look legitimate. The group earned about $700,000 for their help in the scheme.
Federal prosecutors also indicted four Chinese citizens and two Taiwanese nationals who are accused of playing roles in the operation. The Permanent Mission of North Korea to the United Nations did not respond to requests for comment.
The U.S. government continues to treat this kind of scheme as a serious threat to national security, as it allows North Korea to earn money and steal technology while avoiding international sanctions.
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