US defence worker admits North Korea IT worker plot
A Virginia man working for a federal defence contractor has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud over a scheme to dupe American companies into hiring North Korean information technology workers, whose wages were ultimately funnelled toward the regime's military programmes.
John Allen Kurrle Jr., 62, entered his plea on Wednesday, the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia announced. According to court documents reported by USA Today, Kurrle held an active Top Secret security clearance between June and October 2025 that gave him access to restricted intelligence data.
How the scheme worked
Kurrle helped defraud American companies by allowing foreign nationals to apply for remote job positions using borrowed identities. The scheme is part of a broader North Korean government strategy, US authorities say, to employ thousands of IT workers in remote positions around the world to boost government income while evading economic sanctions.
Kurrle is scheduled to be sentenced on 28 January 2027 and faces up to 20 years in prison.
Sanctions on the same day
The plea came on the same day the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned 10 people and one entity over similar schemes that it said funded North Korea's weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programmes. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the regime continued to target American companies through fraudulent activities by its overseas IT operatives, who he said weaponised sensitive data and extorted businesses.
Those sanctioned include a North Korean-controlled entity based in Russia, the First Financial and Technical Development Center, whose six workers generated more than $750,000, according to Treasury reporting. Two Russian nationals accused of converting millions of dollars in cryptocurrency for North Korean networks were also named. Treasury warned that North Korean IT workers have used access to corporate networks to install malware and steal sensitive data, so the risk to employers goes beyond paying a disguised employee.
