US busts North Korean IT network, 14 charged
Washington, Oct 14 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) The United States has charged 14 people and arrested two in a sweeping crackdown on an alleged North Korean operation that infiltrated more than 70 American companies through fraudulent remote technology jobs, generating approximately $3 million believed to have been channelled to the sanctioned regime.
The Justice Department said on Tuesday that federal agents also seized about 187 computers and related devices during an operation targeting networks that enabled North Korean technology workers to obtain employment using stolen or fabricated American identities.
The operation involved searches at more than 40 residences in Texas, where investigators uncovered suspected networks of computers used to make overseas workers appear to be operating from within the United States.
Federal prosecutors in Ohio announced the unsealing of a 58-page indictment charging American citizens and Chinese nationals with participating in the scheme. The indictment was returned by a federal grand jury on October 1.
The charges include conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering, conspiracy to commit identity theft and aggravated identity theft.
Two American nationals, Michael James Bostelle of Pennsylvania and Juan Cecilio Pena Carrillo of Texas, were arrested in connection with the investigation.
According to prosecutors, the operation ran from 2019 until around July 2025, with North Korean technology workers using fraudulent documents, virtual private networks and other digital tools to conceal their identities and locations.
The workers allegedly secured remote positions with American businesses in healthcare, communications, cybersecurity support, retail and manufacturing.
The affected employers were located across Ohio, 16 other states and Washington, DC.
Investigators said American-based facilitators maintained computers supplied by employers at residential properties, allowing overseas workers to access corporate systems remotely.
These arrangements, described by investigators as laptop farms, enabled the workers to appear physically present in the United States while operating from abroad.
“North Korea’s rogue regime uses its pervasive IT worker schemes to raise revenue for various illicit purposes, including the development of weapons that could ultimately target the United States or its allies,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg.
The Justice Department said the investigation formed part of a broader effort to disrupt North Korea’s illicit revenue-generating activities and prevent American companies from unknowingly supporting its weapons programmes.
In Texas, the FBI conducted searches between September 21 and 25 under an initiative called Operation Lonestar Roundup.
Authorities seized approximately 187 laptops and keyboard-video-mouse devices used to provide remote access to corporate computers.
The FBI said the operation targeted workers and facilitators associated with a network identified by cybersecurity company CrowdStrike as Famous Chollima.
“This investigation is about far more than fraud,” said US Attorney Ryan Raybould for the Northern District of Texas.
“It is about a hostile foreign regime infiltrating American companies through stolen identities and covert access points inside our own borders,” he said.
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