DOJ charges 4 North Koreans in $1M crypto theft from blockchain startup

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged four North Korean nationals—Kim Kwang, Kang Tae Bok, Jong Pong Ju, and Chang Nam Il—with wire fraud and money laundering for stealing over $900,000 in cryptocurrency from blockchain companies in Georgia (USA) and Serbia.

The defendants posed as remote IT workers using fake and stolen identities to gain employment and access to sensitive company systems. They then manipulated smart contracts and transferred digital assets to accounts they controlled, laundering the stolen funds through the cryptocurrency mixer to conceal their origins.

The theft involved approximately $740,000 from an Atlanta-based blockchain startup and about $175,000 from a Serbian virtual token company.

Jong Pong Ju used the alias "Bryan Cho" at the Serbian company, while Kim Kwang used a stolen identity at the Atlanta firm. Kim modified smart contracts on Ethereum and one other blockchain to redirect funds without the company’s knowledge.

The Laundering was conducted and accounts registered under fake names with fraudulent Malaysian IDs. The DOJ and FBI warn companies to carefully vet remote IT workers to prevent such insider threats.

A $5 million reward has been offered for information leading to the defendants' arrest, but all four remain outside the U.S.

This case is part of a broader pattern of North Korean cybercriminals using fake identities and social engineering to infiltrate blockchain and crypto firms, generating millions in cryptocurrency. The DOJ recently seized $7.74 million in crypto assets linked to related North Korean IT worker schemes, highlighting the ongoing threat.

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