DOJ indicts five in remote IT work scheme to circumvent North Korean sanctions

Five people, including two Americans, allegedly duped U.S. companies into hiring North Koreans for contract IT work, and funneled millions in U.S. dollars to the sanctioned regime, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said.

 The U.S. considers North Korea to be a direct threat due to its nuclear weapons development, with a series of sanctioned imposed against the country since March 2016.

Under the sanctions, it is illegal for U.S. companies, banks, and individuals to do business with the regime. North Korea has since turned to trying to evade the sanctions and raise much-needed cash. One way is by training thousands in IT and arranging for them to obtain paid work from the U.S. and elsewhere, by pretending to be living elsewhere, the DOJ said.