DOJ Crushes $7.7M Cryptocurrency Scheme by North Korean IT Workers

The U.S. Department of Justice has dismantled a $7.74 million cryptocurrency laundering operation orchestrated by North Korean IT workers. The scheme, designed to evade sanctions, involved stolen identities and sophisticated blockchain tactics to funnel funds to Pyongyang.

Authorities filed a civil forfeiture complaint in the District of Columbia, revealing how these operatives infiltrated U.S. job markets using fabricated credentials. The case builds on the 2023 indictment of Sim Hyon Sop, a North Korean Foreign Trade Bank official implicated in the conspiracy.

Forensic analysis uncovered layered laundering techniques—from shell accounts to obfuscated crypto transactions. This crackdown signals intensified scrutiny of digital asset networks exploited by authoritarian regimes.