Four North Korean individuals have been indicted in Georgia for wire fraud and money laundering after masquerading as remote IT workers at blockchain firms in the U.S. and Serbia, allegedly stealing nearly $1 million in cryptocurrency. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) reported that Kim Kwang Jin, Kang Tae Bok, Jong Pong Ju, and Chang Nam Il used fake identities to hide their North Korean origins. Initially operating from the UAE in 2019, they secured positions at an Atlanta blockchain startup and a Serbian token company between late 2020 and mid-2021. Prosecutors revealed that Kim and Jong submitted forged documents to obtain their jobs, which allowed them to exploit their access for theft. In February 2022, Jong stole approximately $175,000 in crypto, followed by Kim, who misappropriated $740,000 by manipulating smart contract source code. The stolen assets were laundered through mixers and sent to accounts controlled by Kang and Chang, using fraudulent Malaysian IDs. This case is part of the DOJ's initiative targeting North Korea's illicit revenue streams. Read more AI-generated news on: https://app.chaingpt.org/news