5 Americans plead guilty helping North Koreans defraud US companies
What's the story
Five individuals have admitted their guilt in a scheme to help North Koreans defraud American companies by posing as remote IT workers. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the development on Friday. The accused are said to have worked as "facilitators," assisting North Koreans in getting jobs with their own real identities or fake and stolen ones of over a dozen US nationals.
Modus operandi
Scheme involved hosting company laptops at home
The facilitators also hosted company-provided laptops at their homes across the US, making it seem like the North Korean workers were local. This scheme affected 136 American companies and earned Kim Jong Un's regime a whopping $2.2 million in revenue, according to the DOJ. The guilty pleas are part of a long-running effort by US authorities to cut off North Korea's revenue stream from cybercrime activities.
Infiltration tactics
North Korea's infiltration strategy and US response
For years, North Korea has been using remote IT workers, investors, and recruiters to infiltrate Western companies. This is part of a larger scheme to fund its internationally sanctioned nuclear weapons program. In recent years, the US government has fought back by indicting those involved in these schemes and imposing sanctions on international fraud networks.
Commitment
US attorney vows to continue efforts against North Korea
US Attorney Jason A. Reding Quinones said, "These prosecutions make one point clear: the United States will not permit [North Korea] to bankroll its weapons programs by preying on American companies and workers." He added that they would continue working with partners across the Justice Department to uncover these schemes, recover stolen funds, and prosecute every individual who enables North Korea's operations.
Legal consequences
Guilty pleas and their implications
Three of the accused, US nationals Audricus Phagnasay, Jason Salazar, and Alexander Paul Travis, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud conspiracy. The trio was accused of helping North Koreans posing as legitimate IT workers obtain employment using their identities. They also helped these individuals remotely access company-issued laptops set up in their homes and pass vetting procedures like drug tests.
Business involvement
Fourth accused ran company supplying 'certified' IT workers
The fourth US national to plead guilty was Erick Ntekereze Prince, who ran a company called Taggcar. The firm allegedly supplied "certified" IT workers to US companies, but Prince knew they worked outside the country and used stolen or fake identities. He also hosted laptops with remote access software at several residences in Florida and earned over $89,000 for his work.
Identity theft
Ukrainian national sold stolen identities to North Koreans
Another participant in the scheme, Ukrainian national Oleksandr Didenko, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud conspiracy and another count of aggravated identity theft. He was accused of stealing US citizens' identities and selling them to North Koreans so they could get jobs at over 40 US companies. Didenko agreed to forfeit $1.4 million as part of his guilty plea.