FBI disrupts Texas network helping North Koreans get U.S. jobs with false identities
Federal agents have searched more than 40 homes across Texas to disrupt a network that helped North Korean workers obtain remote jobs at U.S. companies using stolen or false identities, according to prosecutors. Authorities say the scheme generated revenue for North Korea’s sanctioned weapons programs.
The FBI seized 187 laptops and devices used to control computers during Operation Lonestar Roundup, which was announced Tuesday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas. Approximately 100 devices were seized in North Texas.
The residences operated as “laptop farms,” where U.S.-based facilitators kept computers sent by companies that believed they had hired workers in the United States. The facilitators configured the laptops and installed software that allowed North Korean workers to access them remotely.
According to investigators, the workers used stolen or fabricated identity documents to secure the jobs, along with virtual private networks and other tools to disguise their locations. Their U.S.-based helpers then transferred earnings to accounts controlled by North Korea.
FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge R. Joseph Rothrock said the operation targeted activity supporting North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction, ballistic missile, intelligence and nuclear programs. He said each seized laptop potentially represents a company that hired a North Korean IT worker.
Cybersecurity company CrowdStrike has identified the workers and their facilitators as “Famous Chollima,” a name also used by victims to describe the broader network. Prosecutors said the operatives used fraudulent Google accounts to carry out the scheme.
The investigation remains ongoing, and the FBI asked companies or individuals with information about the network to report it through its Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
