Leah B. Foley United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts | Department of Justice
Nine individuals have been indicted in Boston, Massachusetts, for their alleged involvement in a scheme to generate revenue for North Korea's weapons of mass destruction programs. The accused include one New Jersey resident and eight overseas actors from China and Taiwan. The scheme reportedly involved dispatching skilled IT workers who used stolen identities of U.S. citizens to secure remote jobs with American companies, including Fortune 500 firms and a defense contractor.
The defendants named in the indictment are Zhenxing “Danny” Wang from New Jersey; Chinese nationals Jing Bin Huang, Baoyu Zhou, Tong Yuze, Yongzhe Xu (currently residing in the UAE), Ziyou Yuan (also in the UAE), and Zhenbang Zhou; as well as Taiwanese nationals Mengting Liu and Enchia Liu. Zhenxing Wang was arrested in New Jersey and will appear in federal court in Boston at a later date.
Court documents allege that the DPRK government has dispatched thousands of skilled IT workers globally to obtain remote jobs using false identities. These workers allegedly accessed sensitive data, including International Traffic in Arms Regulations data from a California-based defense contractor.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley stated, "The threat posed by DPRK operatives is both real and immediate." Assistant Attorney General John A. Eisenberg emphasized that these schemes aim to evade sanctions and fund North Korea's illicit programs. Rafik Mattar from the FBI highlighted the ongoing threat posed by trained North Korean IT workers targeting U.S. companies.
John E. Helsing from DCIS stressed that these indictments should deter illegal exportation of critical defense information. Shawn Gibson from HSI underscored the collaborative efforts of law enforcement agencies to dismantle such international fraudulent schemes.
From 2021 through October 2024, defendants allegedly engaged in fraud resulting in false information transmission to numerous U.S. entities, compromising over 80 identities, securing jobs at more than 100 companies, accessing sensitive systems without authorization, generating $5 million for overseas workers, and causing significant damages to victim companies.
Facilitators Kejia Wang and Zhenxing Wang allegedly assisted by hosting laptops belonging to victim companies at their residences to deceive employers into believing IT workers were based domestically. They also established shell companies to disguise foreign affiliations.
In October 2024, searches conducted across seven locations led to recovering devices from victim companies and seizing fraudulent web domains used for North Korean IT work facilitation.
Additionally, an indictment unsealed today charges four North Korean nationals with stealing virtual currency valued over $750,000 from two companies.
This announcement follows a multi-year investigation under the Justice Department’s initiative "DPRK: Domestic Enabler," focusing on disrupting DPRK’s illicit revenue generation through remote IT work facilitated by U.S.-based individuals.
Potential rewards up to $5 million are offered by the U.S. Department of State for information disrupting North Korea’s financial activities related to this case.
Charges against defendants include conspiracy related offenses carrying potential sentences up to 20 years imprisonment each upon conviction. Sentences will be determined according to federal guidelines if proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt.
U.S. Attorney Foley made this announcement alongside other officials including AAG Eisenberg and representatives from FBI Las Vegas Division among others involved in prosecuting this case with assistance provided by various field offices across multiple states.
Defendants remain presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt as per legal standards.
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