The Justice Department has recently revealed an indictment that charges three North Korean workers and a U.S. citizen with participating in a highly fraudulent scheme. This scheme involved the individuals securing illicit employment with various U.S. companies and government agencies. The Justice Department referred to the scale of the fraud as “staggering.”
The North Korean IT workers, going by the names Jiho Han, Chunji Jin, and Haoran Xu, are facing charges for allegedly using the identities of 60 real Americans to obtain telework positions. This fraudulent scheme took place from October 2020 to 2023 and resulted in profits of almost $7 million for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
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Prosecutors claim that Christina Chapman, a U.S. national, aided the group in their quest for remote work opportunities. It is alleged that she placed laptops from American companies in different residences, which the North Koreans were able to access. Additionally, Chapman is accused of receiving paychecks on behalf of the group and forging the signatures of the intended recipients to transfer the funds into her own bank account. Later, she allegedly transferred the funds to the North Koreans while charging them monthly fees for her services.
According to the indictment, the conspiracy committed a massive fraud against numerous industries, causing harm to unsuspecting U.S. companies and individuals. This scheme had far-reaching consequences, impacting over 300 U.S. companies, compromising the identities of U.S. citizens, providing false information to the Department of Homeland Security on over 100 occasions, generating false tax liabilities for at least 35 U.S. individuals, and resulting in overseas IT workers earning at least $6.8 million in revenue.
According to the indictment, the scheme allegedly defrauded several prominent companies, including a “top-5 national television network and media company, a premier Silicon Valley technology company, an aerospace and defense manufacturer, an iconic American car manufacturer, a high-end retail chain, and one of the most recognizable media and entertainment companies in the world, all of which were Fortune 500 companies.”
The indictment also states that the workers made three separate attempts to gain employment and access to information at two undisclosed U.S. government agencies. However, these attempts were discovered and prevented.
According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), the three North Koreans are still on the loose. The arrest of Chapman took place in Arizona on Wednesday, as stated in a release by the Justice Department. Currently, she does not have a listed attorney.
The State Department made an announcement on Thursday stating that it is willing to offer a reward of up to $5 million to anyone who can provide information regarding the IT workers involved in the scheme and the extent of the disruption caused by them.
