Federal agents searched more than 40 homes across Texas in late September in a crackdown on so-called laptop farms that let North Korean workers pose as Americans in remote technology jobs, the Justice Department announced Tuesday, according to The Record, a cybersecurity news outlet.
The raids ran Sept. 21 through 25. Agents seized 187 laptops and other devices that the department says North Koreans were using, The Record reported. The department did not say which Texas cities were involved.
How the scheme works
In these operations, North Korean workers win remote IT jobs at U.S. companies using stolen or bought identities. People in the United States then keep the company-issued laptops plugged in at their homes so the work appears to come from inside the country, and the paychecks are routed back. Federal officials say the money helps fund the North Korean government, including its weapons programs.
Alongside the raids, prosecutors announced charges of wire fraud, money laundering and identity theft against two U.S. residents, one from Pennsylvania and one from Texas, and indictments of several Chinese and North Korean nationals. Prosecutors say the two Americans helped North Korean workers collect more than $3 million from about 70 companies in 17 states, in fields including health care, cybersecurity, retail and manufacturing.
The Justice Department did not tell The Record whether those charges are tied to the Texas raids. The charges are accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
