US Edition5 Plead Guilty in North Korean IT Worker Schemes in the United States
Five defendants admitted to aiding North Korean workers using stolen identities, impacting 136 U.S. firms and generating $2.2 million for the regime, the DOJ said.
- On Friday, the U.S. Department of Justice announced five people pleaded guilty to aiding North Korean operatives posing as remote IT workers at U.S. companies.
- The DOJ says schemes affected 136 U.S. companies and generated $2.2 million for the DPRK, helping it evade sanctions and fund weapons programs, prosecutors said.
- Three U.S. nationals — Audricus Phagnasay, 24, Jason Salazar, 30, and Alexander Paul Travis, 34 — provided false identities, hosted company-provided laptops with remote-access software, and completed employer vetting including drug tests.
- The DOJ has seized more than $15 million in cryptocurrency tied to Advanced Persistent Threat 38 and Oleksandr Didenko agreed to forfeit $570,000 in fiat and $830,000 in cryptocurrency with sentencing set for Feb. 19, 2026.
- Individual court filings reveal the placements generated approximately $1.28 million in salaries, with Travis earning at least $51,397, Phagnasay about $3,450, Salazar $4,500, and Prince more than $89,000.
14 Articles
14 Articles
Five plead guilty to helping North Koreans pretend to be US-based IT workers
The US Department of Justice has announced that five people have pleaded guilty to helping North Koreans defraud US companies by pretending to be US-based remote workers. North Korea has previously used fake identities and the direct manipulation of US cybersecurity workers to circumvent international sanctions and funnel money into the country.In this case, the people knew they were helping North Koreans, the DOJ says, and "provided their own, …
DOJ lauds series of gains against North Korean IT worker scheme, crypto thefts
The Justice Department notched a few more wins in the fight against North Korean cryptocurrency heists and the regime’s expansive scheme to get remote IT workers hired at U.S. businesses. Officials’ countermeasures to these schemes, which ultimately launder ill-gotten money to North Korea’s government, involve the targeting of U.S.-based facilitators who provide forged or stolen identities and laptop farms for North Korean operatives, and the s…
Five people plead guilty to helping North Koreans infiltrate US companies as 'remote IT workers'
The U.S. Department of Justice said five people — including four U.S. nationals — "facilitated" North Korean IT workers to get jobs at American companies, allowing the regime to earn money from their remote labor.
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