Federal prosecutors have charged 14 people in a North Korean remote IT worker scheme that placed operatives at more than 70 U.S. companies, including healthcare employers.
The four-count indictment, brought in the Northern District of Ohio, alleges wire fraud, money laundering and identity theft, according to an Oct. 13 news release. Authorities arrested two U.S. nationals, Michael James Bostelle of Pennsylvania and Juan Cecilio Pena Carrillo of Texas. Ten China-based defendants were also charged, and two others remain under seal.
From 2019 through about July 2025, North Korean workers allegedly used stolen or fabricated identities, virtual private networks and proxy servers to pose as U.S.-based remote IT staff. U.S. facilitators hosted company-issued laptops at their homes, known as laptop farms. They set up remote-access software on the devices and routed earnings to accounts controlled by North Korea.
The scheme generated about $3 million. Victims included healthcare, communications, retail and manufacturing companies in Ohio, 16 other states and Washington, D.C. The Justice Department did not name the victim organizations.
U.S. Attorney David Toepfer of the Northern District of Ohio said the charges should prompt companies “to remain vigilant in their hiring practices.”
In an Oct. 13 public service announcement, the FBI warned that North Korean IT workers increasingly pay American facilitators, exfiltrate company data and have threatened former managers with violence after being fired. The agency urged employers to layer identity checks across the full employment lifecycle rather than rely on any single red flag.
North Korea collects an estimated 85% to 90% of the money these workers earn, according to the FBI, and the money helps fund its weapons programs.
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