Federal officials say that men stole crypto funds to help finance the North Korean regime.
ATLANTA-A great federal jury in Georgia has charged four North Korean nationals for their alleged roles in a flight and money laundering program of more than $ 900,000 in cryptocurrency to companies in the United States and abroad, including one based in Atlanta.
Kim Kwang Jin, Kang Tae Bok, Jong Pong Ju and Chang Nam they face five federal accusations, including a conspiracy of wire fraud, wire fraud and a money laundering plot. The indictment was returned on June 24 in the North District of Georgia.
According to the American lawyer’s office, the defendants used stolen identities to guarantee remote computer developer positions. Two of them would have worked for a blockchain research company based in Atlanta and used their access to steal digital currency.
The accusation in Georgia is part of a broader effort from the Ministry of Justice on a national level which has also led to the seizure of financial accounts, websites and laptops that would have been used in North Korean fraud regimes.
Prosecutors said Kim and Jong presented themselves as candidates abroad, used false documents and were hired by Atlanta and Serbia companies in 2020 and 2021. They then recommended their co-conspirators for similar roles.
Authorities have said that North Korea had sent thousands of IT workers with stolen or false American identities to infiltrate US companies, including fortune companies 500 to finance its arms program. Officials warn that these workers have, in other cases, have accessed sensitive or owner data.
At the beginning of 2022, the investigators said that Jong used his access to take around $ 175,000 in virtual currency from his employer. The following month, Kim would have changed the smart contract code and stolen about $ 740,000.
“North Korean agents have used false identities to infiltrate businesses and steal digital assets to finance their regime,” said Paul Brown, a special agent in FBI Atlanta. “The FBI is committed to exhibiting these threats and protecting US companies from national cybercrime.”
The officials said that the defendants had laundered the stolen funds, first using a virtual currency mixer to hide the monetary track. They then transferred the cryptocurrency to exchange accounts controlled by Kang and Chang. Investigators say that these accounts were opened with false Malaysian identification documents and alias.
This indictment in Georgia is part of a broader national effort. In a separate case in Massachusetts, prosecutors accused an American citizen and more than six Chinese and Taiwanese nationals in a program that has generated at least $ 5 million in fraudulent wages and affected more than 100 companies.
Meanwhile, the four North Korean nationals accused in Georgia remain in freedom. Federal arrest warrants were issued the same day as the indictment, and the FBI considers all four fugitives.
The FBI said that the group had worked and traveled together and has links with the United Arab Emirates and Laos. They are known to speak English and Korean.
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Kim Kwang Jin, 27 | Known alias: “PS”
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Kang Tae Bok, 28 | Known alias: “Wong Shao Onn”.
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Jong Pong Ju, 28 | Known alias: “Bryan Cho”.
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Chang Nam Il, 25 | Known alias: “Bong Chee Shen” and “Peter Xiao”.
The US State Department offers a reward of up to $ 5 million for information that contributes to disrupting the financial networks of North Korea, including diets such as workers’ export, Cyber Flight and money laundering.
If you have information on these men, contact the FBI at 1-800-Call-Fbi (1-800-225-5324) or submit an online tip to TIPS.FBI.GOV.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
