silver_start_indictment.pdf (740 KB)

The U.S. Justice Department indicted 14 North Korean nationals for alleged sanctions evasion, wire fraud, money laundering, and identity theft tied to a long-running DPRK remote IT worker scheme. Prosecutors say the workers used false, stolen, and borrowed identities to obtain jobs at U.S. companies and nonprofits while working through DPRK-controlled Yanbian Silverstar in China and Volasys Silverstar in Russia. The scheme allegedly generated at least $88 million over about six years, with some conspirators also stealing proprietary source code and extorting employers by threatening to leak it. The case adds to earlier domain and fund seizures and includes a State Department reward offer for information on the companies, named individuals, and related illicit activity.