How the US DOJ is Dismantling North Korea’s Hidden Crypto Empire

The US Department of Justice is working harder to stop North Korea from making money in secret ways through cyber tricks. They announced big wins in November 2025, like people admitting guilt and taking away millions of dollars in digital money. This story shows how a country uses technology to break the law and pay for bad things, like weapons.

The Fraudulent Job Schemes Exposed

To get jobs in American companies, North Korea sends out fake IT workers. These workers act like they’re from the US, but they’re really in another country. In the US, helpers set up “laptop farms,” which are places with computers that North Koreans can control from a distance. It seems like the work is done in the US.

Audricus Phagnasay, Jason Salazar, and Alexander Paul Travis, all from Georgia, admitted to being part of a wire fraud conspiracy. From 2019 to 2022, they helped North Korean workers get jobs at more than 136 US companies. North Korea made more than $2.2 million with this trick. Travis, who is in the US Army, even helped with fake drug tests.

A man from Ukraine named Oleksandr Didenko confessed to the same crime in Washington, D.C., as well as stealing people’s identities. He sold stolen US personal information to North Koreans, who used it to get jobs at 40 companies and make hundreds of thousands of dollars. He has to give back more than $1.4 million that was taken from him.

Erick Ntekereze Prince also pleaded guilty in Florida. He used his business to send fake workers to US companies using stolen information. He made more than $89,000 from this, but most of it went to North Korea.These scams use stolen names, fake emails, and special software to make it look like the workers are somewhere else. The government of North Korea can make up to $300,000 a year from each fake worker.

Seizing the Stolen Crypto Fortune

In addition to the job tricks, North Korea breaks into cryptocurrency companies to steal money. The DOJ took over $15 million in USDT, a stable digital coin that is linked to the US dollar. A group called APT38, which is connected to North Korea’s army, stole a lot of money in 2023.

The hackers took $37 million from one company in Estonia, $100 million from Panama, $138 million from another company in Panama, and $107 million from Seychelles. In total, that’s more than $382 million. They hide the money by washing it through trades and mixers.

In March 2025, the FBI took the USDT. Now, court papers want to keep it forever. The US doesn’t allow people to help North Korea, so this money was supposed to buy weapons. Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI said that investigations show that North Korea is always trying to get around sanctions and pay for its leaders and weapons.

Official source: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-nationwide-actions-combat-illicit-north-korean-government