4 North Korean nationals have been charged in Georgia for wire fraud and cash laundering after posing as distant IT staff at US and Serbian blockchain firms and stealing virtually $1 million in crypto, prosecutors introduced Monday.
Based on the US Division of Justice (DOJ), Kim Kwang Jin, Kang Tae Bok, Jong Pong Ju, and Chang Nam Il posed as distant IT builders utilizing pretend and stolen identities to hide their North Korean citizenship.
The group initially operated from the United Arab Emirates in 2019 earlier than securing jobs at an Atlanta-based blockchain startup and a Serbian digital token firm between late 2020 and mid-2021.
Prosecutors mentioned Kim and Jong submitted fraudulent paperwork, together with stolen and fabricated IDs, to safe these positions, a tactic US Lawyer Theodore S. Hertzberg known as a “distinctive menace” to companies hiring distant IT staff.
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4 North Koreans steal $915,000 in crypto
As soon as inside, the defendants used their privileged entry to steal substantial sums. In February 2022, Jong siphoned roughly $175,000 in crypto. The next month, Kim exploited the supply code of good contracts to steal an extra $740,000.
The stolen funds have been then laundered by way of mixers and despatched to alternate accounts managed by Kang and Chang, all arrange utilizing fraudulent Malaysian IDs, investigators mentioned.
“These schemes goal and steal from US firms and are designed to evade sanctions and fund the North Korean regime’s illicit applications, together with its weapons applications,” mentioned John A. Eisenberg, assistant legal professional common for nationwide safety.
The case was a part of the DOJ’s DPRK RevGen: Home Enabler Initiative, a program launched in 2024 concentrating on North Korea’s illicit income streams and US-based enablers.
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DOJ cracks down on North Korean crypto fraud
In one other incident, federal brokers additionally carried out coordinated raids throughout 16 states, seizing almost 30 monetary accounts, over 20 fraudulent web sites, and roughly 200 computer systems from so-called “laptop computer farms” that enabled North Korean operatives to look as if they have been working from the US.
The DOJ introduced Sunday that the schemes concerned North Korean IT staff posing as US residents utilizing stolen identities to achieve jobs at over 100 American firms, funneling thousands and thousands to Pyongyang and even accessing delicate army information.
Final month, the DOJ filed a civil forfeiture grievance to grab $7.74 million in crypto allegedly earned by North Korean IT staff posing as distant blockchain contractors utilizing pretend identities.
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