The FBI has arrested a man in New Jersey and searched laptop stashes in 16 states as part of a sweeping investigation into a North Korean scheme that used remote tech workers to secretly funnel money into Pyongyang’s weapons programs, the Justice Department announced Monday.According to prosecutors, North Korean IT workers, assisted by accomplices in the US, China, and elsewhere, infiltrated over 100 American companies by posing as US-based employees. They sometimes gained access to sensitive information, including export-controlled military technology, and even stole $740,000 from a Georgia tech firm.The FBI says Americans have played a crucial role in these scams. For example, prosecutors last year charged an Arizona woman who allegedly helped North Korean workers steal the identities of 60 Americans, impacting 300 US companies — including a major TV network and a leading Silicon Valley firm. Separately, a Tennessee man was arrested for helping North Koreans pose as US citizens to secure tech jobs at American and British companies.In one of the latest cases, the Justice Department alleges the New Jersey man and others operated “laptop farms,” using hundreds of company-issued laptops to make it appear that North Korean IT workers were in the US. This deception allowed the North Koreans to access company servers, including those of a California defense contractor specializing in AI-powered technologies.Additionally, prosecutors charged six Chinese nationals and two Taiwanese nationals, who remain fugitives, for roles in the conspiracy. Another case involves four North Korean nationals accused of stealing over $900,000 in cryptocurrency from firms in the US and Serbia and laundering the funds through foreign accounts.These cases highlight North Korea’s long-running strategy of using overseas workers with fake identities to penetrate American firms. Past investigations revealed unsuspecting US businesses — including a California crypto startup — paid North Korean engineers or designers, unknowingly contributing to Pyongyang’s illicit revenue streams. Even the US animation industry has been affected, with North Korean illustrators producing work for American studios without their knowledge.
