Virginia defense contractor employee pleads guilty in North Korean IT scheme
A Virginia defense contractor employee with a U.S. government top secret security clearance has pleaded guilty to helping a North Korean remote work scheme use U.S. identities to apply for jobs, according to federal prosecutors. The applications resulted in nine job offers.
John Allen Kurrle Jr., 62, of Gainesville, pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
According to court documents, Kurrle was employed by a defense contractor and had access to compartmented information from June to August 2025, when he participated in the scheme.
Prosecutors said he allowed foreign individuals to use his identity to apply for remote positions at U.S. companies, including government contractors. He also allowed the fraudulent use of another person’s identity in job applications.
Kurrle received laptops sent by the targeted companies to his home in Gainesville and enabled access to the devices from outside the United States. Applications using his identity or the stolen identity resulted in nine job offers.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said North Korea has dispatched thousands of information technology workers to obtain remote jobs with companies around the world as a way to evade sanctions and earn money for the government.
U.S.-based facilitators help by receiving and hosting company-issued computers in exchange for fees. The office did not identify the foreign individuals involved in Kurrle’s case or say whether they were North Korean.
Kurrle is scheduled to be sentenced on January 28, 2027, and faces up to 20 years in federal prison.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
