US prosecutors have charged four North Korean citizens with wire fraud and money laundering after they allegedly pretended to be remote IT workers to steal nearly $1 million in crypto.
The charges were filed in the state of Georgia and involve two blockchain companies based in the US and Serbia.
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) identified the suspects as Kim Kwang Jin, Kang Tae Bok, Jong Pong Ju, and Chang Nam Il. The group reportedly used fake and stolen IDs to hide that they were North Korean citizens.
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They started operating from the United Arab Emirates in 2019 before later getting jobs at a blockchain startup in Atlanta and a crypto firm in Serbia between December 2020 and May 2021.
Kim and Jong are accused of using fake documents, including false identification, to secure employment. US Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said this method poses a risk for companies that rely on remote workers, as it can be difficult to confirm someone’s true identity.
After getting access to internal systems, the suspects carried out two separate thefts. In February 2022, Jong allegedly stole around $175,000 in cryptocurrency. A month later, Kim exploited smart contract code to take another $740,000.
The stolen money was then moved through mixing services and sent to exchange accounts controlled by Kang and Chang. These accounts were set up using fake Malaysian IDs, investigators said.
According to John A. Eisenberg, the assistant attorney general for national security, the stolen funds were meant to help North Korea avoid sanctions and support its banned weapons programs.
Recently, Dwayne Golden, a 57-year-old man from the US, was sentenced to nearly eight years in prison. What happened? Read the full story.
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