North Korean operatives and American accomplices accused in massive fraud that infiltrated the Fortune 500 and stole millions
Story by Amanda Gerut • 11h
Authorities announced a new crackdown on a sprawling international fraud ring involving North Korean IT workers, naming more than a dozen defendants in two new indictments, including New Jersey man Zhenxing “Danny” Wang. The indictment claims the scheme allegedly generated more than $5 million in illicit earnings and hundreds of thousands in fees for the U.S. conspirators. In a second indictment, four North Korean nationals have been charged with executing a sophisticated operation that generated nearly $1 million in stolen crypto. All told, law enforcement searched 29 suspected laptop farms across 16 states and seized 29 financial accounts allegedly used to launder money and digital assets.
The Justice Department on Monday announced a significant crackdown on the North Korean IT workers fraud scheme, with two new indictments naming more than a dozen alleged conspirators accused of stealing millions from at least 100 companies in the past four years.
According to the first major indictment from the District of Massachusetts, a crew of North Korean IT workers allegedly partnered with co-conspirators in New York, New Jersey, California, and overseas to steal the identities of more than 80 U.S. people, get remote jobs at more than 100 companies—many in the Fortune 500—and steal at least $5 million. According to the second indictment, a four-person team of North Korean IT workers allegedly traveled to the United Arab Emirates where they used stolen identities to pose as remote IT workers, get jobs at American companies for themselves and unnamed co-conspirators, and then systematically steal digital currency to fund North Korea’s nuclear-weapons programs, authorities claimed in the five-count federal charging document.
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