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Two U.S. Men Sentenced for Running ‘Laptop Farms’ That Placed North Korean IT Workers at U.S. Firms

The case highlights a remote-hiring loophole that let overseas operatives slip past ID checks to reach sensitive systems.

Overview

  • Kejia “Tony” Wang, 42, and Zhenxing “Danny” Wang, 39, received 108 and 92 months in prison after Wednesday sentencing in Boston, following guilty pleas to wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies.
  • Prosecutors said the pair built “laptop farms” by hosting company-issued computers in U.S. homes and using keyboard-video-mouse devices so overseas workers appeared to log in from U.S. locations under stolen identities.
  • Court filings state the ring used identities from at least 80 Americans to secure remote roles at more than 100 companies, including Fortune 500 firms, generating over $5 million for North Korea and causing at least $3 million in company losses.
  • An overseas participant accessed a California defense contractor’s systems in early 2024 and obtained technical data regulated under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, raising national-security risks.
  • Judges ordered $600,000 in forfeiture and restitution, including $200,000 from Zhenxing Wang, and the State Department offered up to $5 million for tips on nine co-conspirators who remain at large as agencies press the investigation.