DOJ Continues Crackdown on North Korea's Cyber Schemes

Justice Department Secures Guilty Pleas, $15M in Civil Forfeiture Chris Riotta (@chrisriotta) • November 14, 2025

U.S. federal prosecutors obtained five guilty pleas in cases that exposed how North Korean operatives used stolen and fabricated identities to secure remote tech jobs at U.S. companies. Court filings show the scheme generated more than $2.2 million for the regime and compromised the identities of at least 18 Americans.

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Officials said U.S. facilitators helped North Korean IT workers bypass hiring checks by supplying their own or stolen identities. They also hosted company-issued laptops in U.S. homes to make it appear the workers were logging in domestically (see: North Korea's Hidden IT Workforce Exposed in New Report).

Prosecutors said the fraud affected more than 136 victim firms across finance ...