According to a report from the prosecution on Monday (July 1), four North Korean citizens have been charged with telecommunications fraud and money laundering in Georgia for posing as remote IT employees of American and Serbian blockchain companies, involving nearly $1 million in cryptocurrency.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) stated that Kim Kwang-jin, Kang Tae-bok, Jung Bong-joo, and Jang Nam-il impersonated remote IT developers by forging and stealing identities, deliberately concealing their North Korean identities.
The group first began operations in the UAE in 2019, and then worked at a blockchain startup in Atlanta and a Serbian virtual token company from late 2020 to mid-2021.
The prosecution pointed out that Kim Kwang-jin and Jung Bong-joo obtained their positions by submitting false materials such as stolen and forged identification. U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg stated that this practice poses a "unique threat" to companies hiring remote IT employees.
After being hired, the defendants exploited their administrative privileges to steal large sums of money. In February 2022, Jung Bong-joo illegally transferred approximately $175,000 in cryptocurrency; the following month, Kim Kwang-jin stole $740,000 by tampering with the source code of a smart contract.
Investigators noted that the stolen funds were laundered through mixing services and ultimately flowed into exchange accounts registered under Kang Tae-bok and Jang Nam-il using forged Malaysian identities.
John A. Eisenberg, the U.S. Assistant Attorney General for National Security, stated, "These criminal methods specifically target and steal assets from U.S. companies, aiming to evade sanctions and fund illegal projects of the North Korean regime, including its weapons programs."
This case is part of the DOJ's "DPRK RevGen: Domestic Facilitators Initiative," which was launched in 2024 to combat North Korea's illegal revenue channels and domestic facilitators in the U.S.
Additionally, federal agents coordinated raids in 16 states, seizing nearly 30 financial accounts, over 20 fraudulent websites, and about 200 suspected "notebook farm" computers, which helped North Korean operatives disguise themselves as local U.S. employees.
The DOJ stated on Sunday that such actions involve North Korean IT personnel impersonating U.S. citizens, using stolen identities to illegally work at over 100 U.S. companies, funneling large sums of money to Pyongyang, and even obtaining sensitive military information.
Last month, the DOJ also filed a civil forfeiture lawsuit to seize $7.74 million in cryptocurrency suspected to have been obtained by North Korean IT personnel impersonating remote blockchain contractors through false identities.
Related: Bitcoin (BTC) price fluctuates within a range, but needs a new round of demand to drive upward.
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