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Federal authorities have uncovered various strategies used by North Korea to generate funds for its government through IT work carried out remotely for American companies. This has led to the filing of two indictments, as well as the seizure of technology and financial assets, and the apprehension of a suspect.
According to the Department of Justice, North Korean individuals received assistance from people in the U.S., China, the United Arab Emirates, and Taiwan to secure positions with more than 100 American companies, including those listed in the Fortune 500.
As part of one particular scheme, individuals in the U.S. established front companies and fake websites to validate the authenticity of remote workers, all the while maintaining laptop farms where North Korean IT staff could remotely use company-issued laptops.
In another scheme, IT workers in North Korea used false identities to gain employment with a blockchain research and development company in Atlanta, Georgia, and steal virtual currency worth over $900,000.
Inside a courtroom with gavel in plain view. (iStock)
The indictment alleges the four defendants traveled to the United Arab Emirates on North Korean travel documents and worked as a co-located team.
Jin and Ju were also allegedly hired by a blockchain research and development company in Atlanta, and a virtual token company based in Serbia.
While hired, Jin and Ju hid their North Korean identities from their employers and provided false identification documents, the DOJ alleged.
Both defendants ultimately earned the trust of their employers and allegedly stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from them in multiple instances. The funds were then laundered and transferred to accounts held by Bok and Nam, which were allegedly opened fraudulently using Malaysian identification documents.
During the investigation, the FBI executed searches of 21 premises across 14 states that were hosting known and suspected laptop farms. During the execution, the FBI seized 137 laptops.
