DOJ arrests two in North Korea laptop farm scheme — SkimNews
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- Michael James Bostelle of Pennsylvania and Juan Cecilio Pena Carrillo of Texas were arrested on charges of wire fraud, money laundering and identity theft for helping North Korean IT workers obtain fraudulent jobs at US companies, the DOJ said Tuesday.
- FBI agents conducted searches at more than 40 Texas residences between September 21 and 25, seizing roughly 187 laptops and other devices used to host company machines and make North Korean operators appear to be US-based employees.
- The indictment also charges 10 China-based individuals — Sun Sheng Ming, Pei Li Guang, Weng Shou Cheng, Han Guo Bin, Wang Jian Jun, Sheng Zhang Kun, Zhang Wei Ping, Zhang Li Ping, Yu Yang and Jin Long — with directing the operation; emails sent to the addresses the DOJ listed went unanswered.
- Tey Michael Nolte, named in the indictment but not charged, allegedly recruited, managed and trained American participants — including Bostelle — to lend their names and personal information in exchange for proceeds from the scheme.
- The DOJ called the fraud "massive," saying it compromised the identities of 25 Americans, sent false information to multiple US government agencies, and generated at least $3 million for overseas IT workers, with impact spanning more than 70 US companies.
- US officials have warned for years that North Koreans are surreptitiously gaining remote employment at American firms to raise money for Pyongyang, access corporate networks and steal data — a pattern this indictment now puts a dollar figure and headcount on.
Why it matters: The DOJ's framing of the operation as "massive" — 40-plus laptop farms raided, 70-plus victim companies, 25 stolen identities and at least $3 million routed overseas — is the largest publicly disclosed US enforcement action against North Korea's remote-work revenue scheme and reframes the threat as routine identity fraud funneling cash to Pyongyang while planting North Korean operators inside American corporate networks.
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