- The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned a North Korean front company and three individuals for running a fake IT worker scheme.
- The scheme sent North Korean workers abroad to earn U.S. dollars, helping fund North Korea’s weapons programs.
- One U.S. woman, Christina Chapman, was sentenced to 8.5 years in prison after running a large operation that assisted North Korean IT workers in faking U.S. remote jobs.
- Over 300 American companies and agencies were impacted, with attempts to access sensitive data and introduce Malware into company networks.
- The operations generated over $17 million in illegal revenue between 2020 and 2023 for Chapman and the North Korean regime.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions on a North Korean company and three individuals accused of supporting a fraudulent information technology scheme. According to a Treasury statement, these parties helped North Korea generate millions in revenue in violation of international sanctions aimed at the country’s weapons programs.
OFAC targeted Korea Sobaeksu Trading Company (also known as Sobaeksu United Corporation) and three associates—Kim Se Un, Jo Kyong Hun, and Myong Chol Min. Officials said the group helped skilled North Korean IT workers acquire remote jobs using fake documents and stolen identities. The department said the actions are part of ongoing efforts to cut off illegal funding for North Korea’s nuclear and missile activities.
“Our commitment is clear: Treasury, as part of a whole-of-government effort, will continue to hold accountable those who seek to infiltrate global supply chains and enable the sanctions evasion activities that further the Kim regime’s destabilizing agenda,” said OFAC Director Bradley T. Smith in a statement.
The scheme involved sending North Korean IT workers to countries like China, Russia, and Vietnam. These workers, with assistance from facilitators running “laptop farms,” would access jobs in the U.S. and elsewhere by impersonating American citizens online. Authorities found that the workers often used popular children’s characters, such as Minions from “Despicable Me,” as part of their fake social media and email identities. The U.S. government reported that most wages went directly to the North Korean regime, earning hundreds of millions for its weapons programs.
Earlier this month, OFAC also sanctioned Song Kum Hyok, linked to the North Korean Hacking group Andariel, for his involvement in similar activities. In a separate case, Christina Marie Chapman of Arizona received an 8.5-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to running a “laptop farm” in support of North Korea’s IT scheme. This operation enabled IT workers to appear as if they were working in the U.S. when they were actually abroad.
Chapman’s case involved over 90 laptops seized from her home and 49 more shipped overseas, including to China. Her activities brought in more than $17 million from 2020 to 2023. She was also ordered to pay $284,556 to the U.S. government and $176,850 in additional penalties. According to the Justice Department, Chapman’s scheme exploited over 300 U.S. companies and agencies and involved stealing dozens of American identities. Some attempts by these workers to get jobs at U.S. government agencies were unsuccessful.
“Christina Chapman perpetrated a years’ long scheme that resulted in millions of dollars raised for the DPRK regime, exploited more than 300 American companies and government agencies, and stole dozens of identities of American citizens,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti in a statement.
The scheme targeted a variety of American businesses, from technology firms and television networks to automotive and aerospace manufacturers.
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