The Justice Department has charged 14 people in an alleged North Korean remote-work operation that reached more than 70 U.S. companies, generated about $3 million, and led to two arrests and the seizure of roughly 187 computer devices.
Prosecutors say the indictment, unsealed in Ohio, accuses U.S. citizens and Chinese nationals of helping North Korean IT workers obtain remote jobs using stolen or fabricated identities. The workers allegedly posed as U.S.-based employees while operating from abroad, with American facilitators receiving and hosting company-issued laptops in so-called “laptop farms.” Investigators say the operation affected companies in sectors including health care, communications, retail and manufacturing, across Ohio and other states.
The FBI searched more than 40 Texas residences suspected of serving as laptop farms during a series of actions in September. Authorities say the scheme’s proceeds were directed toward North Korea, whose government uses illicit revenue to support its regime and weapons programs. Two U.S. defendants were arrested; the remaining defendants are at large or, in two cases, still under seal.
The allegations have not been proven in court.