They have collected millions of dollars to boost the government’s nuclear weapons development, according to the US justice department and court records.
North Koreans and other employment fraudsters have realized that they can trick hiring systems to get jobs.
To run the schemes, the North Koreans need facilitators in the United States, because the companies “aren’t going to willingly send laptops to North Korea or even China”, said Adam Meyers, head of counter-adversary operations for CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity firm.
Chapman grew up in an abusive home and drifted “between low-paying jobs and unstable housing”, according to documents submitted by her attorneys.
About six months after the LinkedIn message, Chapman started running what law enforcement officials describe as “laptop farms”.
Meanwhile, the North Koreans created fictitious personas and online profiles to match the job requirements for remote IT worker positions.
“I just typed in the name Daniel,” Chapman told the person in North Korea, according to court records of an online conversation. »