A U.S. federal court has sentenced a Ukrainian man to five years in prison for his involvement in an identity theft operation that assisted North Korean workers in obtaining fraudulent employment at numerous U.S. companies.
U.S. prosecutors charged Oleksandr Didenko, 29, from Kyiv, in 2024, for helping North Koreans use stolen identities of U.S. citizens to secure jobs and earn wages. The wages were then funneled back to Pyongyang to support its nuclear weapons program.
This case is part of recent convictions involving North Korean “IT worker” schemes. These workers are considered a “triple threat” to U.S. and Western businesses, as they breach sanctions, steal sensitive data, and extort companies about releasing corporate secrets.
Didenko managed a website called Upworksell, facilitating the purchase or rental of stolen identities for employment at U.S. firms. He handled over 870 stolen identities, according to the Justice Department.
The FBI seized Upworksell in 2024, redirecting its traffic to their servers. Polish authorities arrested Didenko, who was extradited to the U.S. and later pleaded guilty.
In a recent statement, the U.S. Department of Justice said Didenko also paid individuals to host computers in their homes, creating “laptop farms” in various states, allowing North Koreans to work remotely as if they were in the U.S.
Security firm CrowdStrike noted a rise in North Korean workers infiltrating companies as remote developers or technical roles, a scheme to financially support North Korea amid international sanctions.
North Koreans are also known to impersonate recruiters and venture capitalists to deceive high-profile victims into granting computer access, including targeting cryptocurrency.