Salon’s nail employee pleads guilty after holding 13 remote IT laborers worked by developers in China

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April 27, 2025

Minh Phuong Ngoc Vong, 40, Maryland, Maryland, will be convicted in August, and will be convicted After he pleaded guilty of the conspiracy to commit fraud with the wire this month. Wine wine is the last intrigue in what the authorities say vast forgery the scheme of the working This is funded by North Korea’s illegal nuclear weapons and ballistic missile. Authorities have allegedly rented its identity to the United States developers in China, who used it to get more than a dozen remote technological jobs, some of which participated in contract work for sensitive government agencies.

40-year-old man Maryland opposite Decades in prison after he allegedly collaborated with foreign nationals in China to get remote work of IT laborers at least 13 different US companies between 2021 and 2024. The tasks paid him more than $ 970,000 for the salary for the tasks of the software development, which were actually performed by the North Korean bodies and work in China Shenyan, according to the Justice Department.

Chinese developers have used IT-labor campaigns, some of which are related to the conclusion of the US software Federal Aviation AdministrationIn order to access the very sensitive state systems in which they entered from the border, the authorities said. According to the Ministry of Justice, the Maryland person’s scheme is part of A Great Surgery on Fraud in which training Citizens of North Korea work with American fasilitators To fake IT labor jobs in different identity, do a job from Russia or China, and then illegally remake Their salaries Kim Jong Inn, the authoritarian leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

The conspiracy had dozens of charges, including Americans who found themselves guilty of holding computer farms, where they stored dozens of laptops taught in the company, for a fee, to seem to be working in the US, at the UN, the UN, the UN. According to estimates The scheme brings profit from $ 250 to $ 600 million annually and finances the illegal North Korean nuclear weapons program. FBI, State Department and Ministry of Justice say thousand In recent years, he has been admitted to hundreds of Fortune 500 companies.

In the case of the Maryland Men, Mi Phuong Ngo Wong, Doj claims he worked in the league with developers in China, including the one who called himself “William James”. The court records show that the authorities believe that James and others John in this scheme are North Korea. Wong allegedly informed the FBI Agent “William”, who approached him through the video game app and told Vong that he could “legally” to make money by getting a job, and then giving William access to the computer.

According to DOJ and Court documents, Wong allegedly allowed James and other unnamed conspirators to make a fake resume for him, saying he received a degree at Hawaiian University, 16 years of work experience as a software developer and previously supported security at the secret level. Doj said Wong, which worked in his nails and spa -salon, had neither degree nor he had experience in development.

At one of the 13 jobs, the one who called himself a Wong allegedly joined the interview with a senior software developer who recommended a job and took over the screenshot during the meeting. Later, the CEO of a company based in Virginia hired it after Successful final interview In which Wong allegedly showed his driver’s driver’s license and US passport to confirm its identity, and the company for the second time conducted screenshon vong, holding the documents. (Judicial records indicate that the authorities believe that these screen grips make up two different people – the one who is allegedly North Korean IT -Working, represented as a wong and another who is a true Wong with Maryland, who is licensed and passport.)

The company put Vong work on the FAA contract, which involved aviation assets in flight in the US, according to court records. The software is used by government agencies such as the Ministry of Defense, the Department of Internal Security and the secret service. The Virginia company supplied Vong MacBook Pro with administrative software downloads, and FAA Let Vong has A Personal Checking Person Map to enter state objects and systems, Indicate court records. Wong allegedly installed “remote access” on the device so that James and his cohort could use it from China.

Between March to July 2023, Virginia paid more than $ 28,000 until the job was done by James and other unknown people, Doj said. During the stay there someone is known as wong Zoom At a daily meeting meeting, they talked to their team about their list of tasks. As part of his guilt, Wong confessed that Virginia’s work was only one of the 13 different companies that hired it from 2021 to 2024. A few did contract work for the US government except FAA. Vong was fired by Virginia after it submitted its information to the defense and security agency for secret design and learned that he may have another job.

After he was fired, the CEO showed a picture of Wong’s senior sacrifice, who initially recommended it. The developer told the CEO that the man he called “Vong” in the photo was not the same “vong”, which he initially questioned and conducted a screenshot. He was also not a man who participated in daily virtual meetings and worked.

Wong pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud with wire and threatens 20 years in prison. Went to the phone, Wong refused to comment.

Michael “Barney” Barnhart, Chief Investigative Insider risk at DTEx Systems Wealth In its statement, the US law enforcement agencies to expose and violates North Korean IT workers and facilitators, which allow them, are positive achievements.

“These accusations are another critical step in violation of the competition,” Barnhart said in a statement. However, Barnhart said his group directly noticed IT workers trying to get other very sensitive jobs, including positions with the US government and other contractors for federal agencies.

In addition, the report published this month, the Google Group Group Group Group Group disclosed The scheme is expanding, and one DPRK worker at the end of last year acted at least 12 characters across Europe and the United States, and searched for more jobs in European defense and with state contractors. According to the latest report, other investigations have found a false identity of IT workers looking for work in Germany and Portugal.

“Even if these subjects are primarily motivated financially, the risk they pose for critical infrastructure is huge,” said John Hultckvist, Google Intelligence Analyst Wealth. “This scheme has become so common that the orientation to these organizations is almost inevitable. Considering their connection with the special services, such access can be a nightmare.”

The Baltimore of the FBI is investigating the case.

Originally this story was presented on Fortune.com