DOJ charges 4 North Koreans in $1M crypto theft from blockchain startup

Four North Koreans posed as remote developers for US and Serbian blockchain firms, stealing almost $1 million in crypto to fund the regime’s illicit programs.

Four North Korean nationals were charged in the state of Georgia with wire fraud and money laundering after posing as remote IT workers at US and Serbian blockchain companies and stealing almost $1 million in crypto, prosecutors said Monday.

According to the US Department of Justice (DOJ), Kim Kwang Jin, Kang Tae Bok, Jong Pong Ju and Chang Nam Il posed as remote IT developers using fake and stolen identities to conceal their North Korean citizenship.

The group initially operated from the United Arab Emirates in 2019 before securing jobs at an Atlanta-based blockchain startup and a Serbian virtual token company between late 2020 and mid-2021.

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