U.S. Treasury estimated that more than $800 million was sent to North Korea in fiscal year 2024.
Posted by Leslie Eastman
How wonderful to see the FBI focusing on alleged North Korean spies and fraudsters, which is truly a welcome change from the bureau’s controversial scrutiny of traditional Catholics and concerned parents at school-board meetings during the Biden era.
The new focus has proven results.
Federal agents raided 40 North Texas locations and seized more than 180 laptops allegedly used to let North Korean operatives pose as American remote workers, funneling earnings to a regime whose nuclear and missile programs hardly qualify as worthy charitable causes.
Federal authorities have raided farms in 40 locations across North Texas — but the farms targeted by Operation Lone Star Roundup weren’t harvesting food or raising livestock.
They are called laptop farms that authorities say are controlled remotely in North Korea and used to steal U.S. jobs and money.
Officials said indictments are coming after they seized more than 180 laptops they claim were part of a widespread operation supporting the North Korean government, something officials say threatens national security.
During a Tuesday morning press conference with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas, U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould said the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) uses information technology (IT) workers to earn wages from American companies, funneling that money to the North Korean government. Raybould said that money funds the DPRK’s nuclear and ballistic weapons programs.
https://x.com/FBIDirectorKash/status/2110175469014278350?s=20
The laptop farms started when North Korean IT workers used falsified identification to get remote work contracts with U.S. companies.
Because these workers actually live in North Korea, they rely on U.S. facilitators to receive company-issued laptops and host them in their homes.
The U.S. facilitators install remote access software, allowing operatives in North Korea to log in and appear as though they are working from within the United States.
The workers then funnel an estimated 85% to 90% of their earnings directly to the North Korean government.
Raybould said the U.S. Treasury estimated that more than $800 million was sent to North Korea in fiscal year 2024.
The Department of Justice also indicated that announced that Michael James Bostelle of Pennsylvania and Juan Cecilio Pena Carrillo of Texas were arrested on charges of wire fraud, money laundering, and identity theft in connection with the alleged scheme. Additionally, prosecutors indicted several Chinese nationals for their participation in the scheme.
- The indictment also charged 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, all based in China, for their roles in the operation, according to the statement.
- According to an indictment unsealed on Tuesday, the Chinese-based operators directed Pena and Tey Michael Nolte, along with at least four other Americans, in the scheme. Nolte was named in the indictment but not charged.
- Nolte and attorneys for Pena and Bostelle could not immediately be reached for comment. Emails sent to addresses that the DOJ alleged were used by the Chinese-based participants went unanswered.
- Nolte allegedly recruited, managed and trained Bostelle and other Americans, who allowed their names and personal information to be used to permit the North Korea-directed operation to function, in exchange for proceeds from the scheme, the DOJ said. The Americans’ actions included receiving and hosting laptops belonging to US victim companies at their homes, to make it appear as if the North Koreans were legitimate employees operating in the US.
The fraud scheme affected more than 70 U.S. companies, compromised the identities of 25 Americans, and led to the submission of false information to multiple federal agencies.
Exposing this alleged North Korean operation is welcome news, but it raises an uncomfortable question: Might investigators have uncovered it sooner had Washington kept its attention on genuine national-security threats?
With federal prosecutors promising indictments for those involved in the laptop farms, I hope Washington rediscovers that protecting Americans from hostile foreign operations is a better use of federal resources than treating church socials and school-board disputes as national-security territory.
I thought the FBI only tracked elected Republicans and crafted political stories for Dem campaigns and network news. It should be obvious by now that the Clintons, Obama, Biden exceeded Watergate 100 fold by now.
LBJ alone exceeded Watergate by at least an order of magnitude.
Kind of interesting that they know that the money conveniently funds the current buzzwords “nuclear and ballistic weapons program ” – in Pik Egs Mon Tan.
I’m now 100% sure that’s not a lie and that they have the capacity to track the flow of money down to the warhead – especially in north korea;
Yet a bit picky for someone spying globally via prism in 190 countries and who systematically used? it to steal inventions and other content.
And 800 mio? – that’s so much money. It can run the US War Department for almost 7 hours,
built 2 solom ballrooms, 1.5 Mar A Lagos
or pay for the necessary number of interceptors needed to successfully shoot down almost 2 incoming ballistic missiles on average when using Thaads( according to Ted Postol).
Yeah, your right, not worth going after when there are so many moms an dads to arrest voicing their concerns to protect there daughters from predator males posing as females in their locker rooms. Not to mention those pesky Christians.
Do you believe that Kim is spending that money on schools?
Do you “believe” there are no schools in North Korea, or that they are not government funded?
Does anyone care what you or I “believe”?
The North Korean government probably doesn’t even care what the US government “believes”. A state of war still exists between the DPRK and the USA.
Both governments pay soldiers to look fierce and glare at each other in shifts. It’s cheaper and less fatal than slaughtering random civilians with large bombs, missiles, machine guns, and all the rest.
Maybe the DPRK should provide Iran with a nuclear weapon or two, and set up a mutually agreeable spot for US and Iranian soldiers to stare at each other for 50 years or so – while the rest of the world goes about its business.
What do you think?
Red herring.
So Indian nationals are not allowed to either work outside the US if required, or to send money back to India? Only North Koreans?
The US government has gone completely mad. If you don’t want foreign born workers to send money home, don’t employ them. If you are so easily fooled by them, try face-to-face interviews, and do a bit of research. Are Israelis allowed to send money to Israel? Are Roman Catholics allowed to donate funds to the Vatican?
North Korea has managed to develop atomic weapons, as have Pakistan and a number of other countries. The US has discovered that wildly imposing sanctions, tariffs, etc., achieves little except to annoy foreigners. Now, the US has lifted sanctions on Russia, who will no doubt be laughing as they supply the US with all the high-priced Iranian diesel it can take.
Unless Russia decides to say “No.” Maybe the US could threaten Russia? Impose sanctions? Tariffs?
Seems a bit odd, doesn’t it?
The issue is where the workers are located.
US law requires that workers actually be in the US if they are to qualify as on-shore workers.
These workers were not on-shore and never were.
Their wages are benefitting the N. Korean economy rather than the US one.
There are also security concerns with sensitive data being available overseas. Many government contracts ban the so called offshore resources for that reason.
“The laptop farms started when North Korean IT workers used falsified identification to get remote work contracts with U.S. companies.”
Those US companies should be prosecuted for not doing due diligence when deciding who can do this work for them.
Absolutely. If you think there are foxes around, pay more attention to your chickens.
Are laptops in a laptop farm fruits or vegetables? Grok doesn’t have an answer.
I would treat the Americans as traitors and charge them with treason. Any foreigner would be deported and banned from ever entering the US again. In addition the countries the foreigners came from would have limits placed on how many of them could enter the US.
Shoot a few while you’re at it-things will settle down then.
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