They Sold Out American Jobs – and National Security – to North Korea. Now They’re Going to Prison

U.S. Nationals Ran Secret Operation to Put North Korean Agents Inside American Firms – For Millions

Two U.S. nationals have been sentenced to prison for their roles in a scheme that enabled North Korean information technology workers to fraudulently obtain employment at American companies, generating millions of dollars for the North Korean government, federal authorities said.

Kejia Wang, 42, of Edison, New Jersey, was sentenced to 108 months in prison, while Zhenxing Wang, 39, of New Brunswick, New Jersey, received a 92-month sentence. Both men previously pleaded guilty in the District of Massachusetts to charges including conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. Kejia Wang also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit identity theft.

Prosecutors said the defendants helped facilitate a multi-year operation in which North Korean IT workers posed as U.S.-based professionals to secure remote jobs at more than 100 American companies, including major corporations. The scheme relied on the stolen identities of at least 80 U.S. individuals and generated more than $5 million in illicit revenue for the government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

According to court documents, from approximately 2021 through October 2024, the defendants and their co-conspirators operated so-called “laptop farms” in the United States to deceive employers into believing remote workers were located domestically. The setup involved hosting company-issued laptops at U.S. residences while overseas workers accessed them remotely using specialized hardware. (Read a 2025 indictment here)

Authorities said Kejia Wang acted as a manager of the U.S.-based portion of the scheme, supervising at least five facilitators who maintained hundreds of computers tied to victim companies. Zhenxing Wang was among those facilitators, receiving and hosting laptops at his residence and enabling remote access through devices designed to control the computers from abroad.

The defendants also created shell companies, including Hopana Tech LLC, Tony WKJ LLC, and Independent Lab LLC, to give the appearance that the overseas workers were affiliated with legitimate U.S. businesses. Prosecutors said the companies had no real operations and were used to receive payments from victim employers. Millions of dollars were funneled through associated financial accounts, with a portion transferred to overseas co-conspirators. The defendants and other facilitators collectively received nearly $700,000.

Investigators said the scheme caused at least $3 million in damages to U.S. companies, including legal costs and expenses related to securing compromised networks. In some cases, the fraudulent workers gained access to sensitive data, including export-controlled technical information from a California defense contractor. The Department previously announced sentencings of DPRK IT worker facilitators in July and December 2025, and February and March 2026.

In addition to prison terms, a federal judge ordered both defendants to serve three years of supervised release and to forfeit a combined $600,000. As of the sentencing, $400,000 had already been recovered. Kejia Wang was also ordered to pay more than $29,000 in restitution.

Eight additional defendants charged in connection with the scheme remain at large and are being sought by the FBI.

$100M IRS Fraud Scheme Uncovered: U.S., U.K., and Nigeria-Based Defendants Charged in Identity Theft Conspiracy

Indictments unsealed in the Northern District of Georgia and the Western District of Texas charge a Georgia man and a resident of the United Kingdom and Nigeria in connection with an alleged scheme to defraud the Internal Revenue Service using stolen identities.

Prosecutors allege that Akinade Adedeji Raheem, 43, of Atlanta, and Abayomi Quadri Eletu, 42, conspired with others to obtain fraudulent tax refunds by filing false returns in the names of accountants and taxpayers. According to the indictment, the group filed more than 300 fraudulent tax returns seeking over $100 million in refunds.

Authorities say that between 2018 and 2023, the defendants and their co-conspirators obtained personal identifying information — including names, addresses and Social Security numbers — by creating online accounts with the IRS and requesting private taxpayer data. They allegedly changed taxpayer addresses to ones under their control so that IRS correspondence would be redirected, and also submitted change-of-address requests to the U.S. Postal Service to forward victims’ mail.

Using the stolen information, the defendants allegedly filed electronic tax returns claiming refunds and directed the IRS to distribute funds across multiple prepaid debit cards. In some cases, the IRS sent verification letters to addresses controlled by the group, where the conspirators allegedly posed as taxpayers to confirm identities and authorize release of the refunds.

Prosecutors further allege that Eletu directed Raheem and others to acquire prepaid debit cards to receive the funds. Once refunds were deposited, the group allegedly laundered proceeds by purchasing money orders in amounts designed to avoid reporting thresholds. Those funds were then used to buy items including used cars from auction sites — some of which were shipped to Nigeria — as well as designer clothing and other goods.

Eletu was arrested in the United Kingdom at the request of the United States.

Both defendants face charges of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Eletu is additionally charged with multiple counts of mail fraud, wire fraud, access device fraud and aggravated identity theft. Raheem faces additional counts of access device fraud and aggravated identity theft.

If convicted, the defendants face up to 20 years in prison for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, 20 years for money laundering and 10 years for access device fraud, along with a mandatory two-year sentence for aggravated identity theft.

An indictment is an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.