Two US Citizens Arrested for Assisting North Korea

Two United States citizens have been arrested for allegedly collaborating with North Korean nationals. The crime enabled electronic transfers and money laundering. The defendants assisted North Korean IT workers in disguising themselves as US citizens and securing employment in US companies. “This fraud placed North Korean IT workers on the payrolls of unsuspecting US companies and into US computer systems, thereby endangering our national security,” stated Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg, quoted from Tom’s Hardware on Friday (17/4/2026). The defendants and several others stole the identities of more than 80 US citizens. They used them to obtain positions in over 100 US companies, including several Fortune 500 firms. The impact of this crime included expenses for the companies. At least more than US$3 million (Rp 51.5 billion) for legal costs, computer network repair expenses, and other losses. The perpetrators Kejian Wang and Zhenxing Wang were sentenced to nine years and seven years eight months, plus three years of probation. They also must repay a total of US$600,000 (Rp 10.3 billion) paid to North Korea. The Department of Justice stated that Kejian Wang committed this crime by meeting a former classmate from North Korea. This meeting took place during a trip to Shenyang and Dandong in China. Kejian acted as an operations manager in the US who oversaw five other facilitators, including Zhenxing. Both defendants also established fictitious companies, including Hopana Tech LLC, Tony WKJ LLC, and Independent Lab LLC.