North Korean IT worker FBI wanted poster.
Source: FBI
of Ministry of Justice has accused 14 North Korean nationals of conspiring to use false identities to obtain IT jobs at U.S. companies and siphon funds back to their home country, in violation of U.S. sanctions.
of indictmentwas filed in Missouri federal court on Wednesday, alleging that the conspiracy generated at least $88 million from April 2017 to March 2023.
All 14 defendants are charged with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, as well as conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering, and identity theft. Eight of the co-conspirators are also charged with aggravated identity theft.
If convicted, the co-conspirators could each face up to 27 years in prison, according to the Justice Department. All 14 people are listed as “Wanted by the FBI.”
In some cases, they increased their income by stealing confidential company information and forcing extortion payments from employers to prevent the information from being released, according to the Justice Department.
Prosecutors said the co-conspirators applied for jobs using stolen identities of Americans to hide their identities from U.S. employers. He also paid Americans to remotely attend job interviews and work meetings using false identities, and he also registered web domains and designed fake websites to defraud prospective employers. It is said that
The Justice Department said in a press release that some of the websites “should have raised suspicions” about the candidates.
For example, some sites contained gibberish such as, “Furthermore, no one loves pain, pursues pain, or desires pain because pain is pain, but…” the government said.
North Korean IT worker FBI wanted poster.
F.B.I.
The co-conspirators allegedly worked for two North Korean-controlled companies, Yanbian Silver Star and Borasis Silver Star, based in China and Russia, respectively. The U.S. Treasury previously both companies were sanctioned.
The State Department announced Thursday that it would make the following recommendations: Rewards up to $5 million Obtain information about co-conspirators and others associated with two “North Korean front companies.”
The Justice Department says both companies employ at least 130 workers, but there are many more working toward the same goal of avoiding sanctions and generating revenue for the country’s ruling regime.
“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” Ashley Johnson, special agent in charge of the FBI’s St. Louis field office, said of the incident Thursday.
“The North Korean government trains and deploys thousands of IT personnel to carry out the same plans against American companies every day,” Johnson said.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a press release: “To support its brutal regime, the North Korean government forces IT workers to obtain jobs through fraud, steal sensitive information from U.S. companies, and siphon funds back to North Korea. I am instructing them to do so.”
Monaco said, “The latest indictment of 14 North Korean nationals exposes suspected sanctions evasion and should serve as a warning to businesses around the world to be on guard against this malicious act by the North Korean regime.” .
