The US Department of Justice announced a large-scale operation aimed at exposing a scheme in which North Korean IT specialists were illegally employed by US technology companies. The proceeds of this activity were used to fund North Korea’s missile program, as well as data and cryptocurrency theft. About this informs TechCrunch.
The main figure of the investigation was the US citizen Zhenxing “Danny” Wang from New Jersey, who is charged with conspiracy to commit fraud, money laundering and identity theft. According to the investigation, the scheme organized by him provided the North Korean regime with more than 5 million dollars.
The case also includes eight accomplices — six Chinese and two Taiwanese — who helped Wang by disguising foreign workers as Americans and setting up shell companies in the United States.
Between 2021 and 2024, participants in the scheme used fake personal data of more than 80 people to get them remote work at more than 100 US companies. Total damages related to these activities are estimated at $3 million, including legal fees and liquidation costs.
During the searches, the FBI seized 137 laptops at 21 locations in 14 states. In total, more than 70 remote access devices, 29 financial accounts, 21 web domains and other equipment were seized. In addition, separate indictments have been filed against five North Korean citizens who embezzled more than $900,000 in cryptocurrency from the accounts of two companies.
According to representatives of the US Department of Justice, this operation shows the scale and aggressiveness of North Korea’s actions in the digital space and the desire of the regime to integrate its specialists into the global IT infrastructure.
