Five of the men had asked North Koreans to take down US companies by posing as their workers, Det. announced on FridaySee rank-.
The five men are accused of working as “facilitators” who helped North Korea get jobs by providing real identities, or fake and stolen identities from U.S. citizens. Facilitators were also given laptops by companies in their homes to make them look like North Korean L workers, according to a DoJ Press Release.
The actions affected 136 US companies and netted the Kim Jong UN regime $2.2 million in revenue, the DOJ said.
The latest round of wrongdoing is part of a years-long effort by American authorities to disrupt North Korea’s ability to make money from cybercrime. For years, North Korea has been successful attacked hundreds of western companies As the worker mentioned in the remote – well Investors and recruitment – As part of a plan to finance an international nuclear weapons program. In recent years, the U.S. government has gone back to war, acknowledge people participate in the scheme, and punish sanctions In an international fraud networkSee rank-.
“This registration makes one point clear: the United States will not allow (North Korea) to consolidate its weapons program by targeting American companies and” said US ALTORNEY Jason A. “We will continue to work with our partners in the Department of Justice to find the plan, recover the stolen funds, and pursue everyone who enabled North Korea’s operations.”
Three men – US citizens, Jason Salazar, and Alexander Paul Travis – each pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud conspiracy.
Prosecutors accused the three of helping the North Koreans work for the workers, who could work outside the home, and also helping them use company-issued procedures, such as drug tests.
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Travis, who the judge said was on active duty in the U.S. Army at the time of the scheme, earned more than $50,000 for the act, while Phagnasay was paid $4,500. The plan saw the US company pay $1.28 million in salaries, most of which was sent to North Korean IT workers abroad, according to the DOJ.
The fourth US national to plead guilty is Erick Ntekelze Prince, who gave the taggcar, which was given to the company allegedly “Certified”, which was sold using a stolen or using a false identity. Prince also hosted a laptop with remote access software at several properties in Florida, and earned more than $89,000 for his work, the DOJ said.
Another participant in the scheme who pleaded one count of wire fraud conspiracy and another count of proseSandr of the US National Citizernko and the sale of jobs to more than 40 US companies.
According to the press release, Didenko earned hundreds of thousands of dollars for this service. Didenko agreed to forfeit $1.4 million as part of a guilty plea.
The DoJ also announced that it has frozen and seized more than $15 million in Cryptocurrency stolen in 2023 by North Korean hackers from several crypto platforms.
Crypto companies, exchanges, and BlockChain projects, have become one of the favorite targets for North Korean hackers, who steal them More than $650 million In Crypto in 2024, and More than $2 billion So far this year.