Case 089: Jin Sung-Il | The Coder from Pyongyang: North Korea’s Remote-Control Fugitive
When “remote work” goes rogue. Jin Sung-Il, a North Korean national now wanted by the FBI, wasn’t freelancing for pocket money—he was allegedly part of a global scheme to funnel nearly a million dollars straight into Pyongyang’s coffers. According to the Department of Justice, Jin and his co-conspirators used stolen identities, fake résumés, and U.S.-based “laptop farms” to trick at least sixty-four American companies into hiring them for IT work. Behind the keyboards? North Korea’s state-sponsored cyber operatives, using American paychecks to fund a sanctioned regime.With three facilitators already in custody, Jin Sung-Il remains on the run—accused of conspiracy, sanctions evasion, and fraud on a global scale.This is Fugitive Files. Let’s get into it.
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When “remote work” goes rogue. Jin Sung-Il, a North Korean national now wanted by the FBI, wasn’t freelancing for pocket money—he was allegedly part of a global scheme to funnel nearly a million dollars straight into Pyongyang’s coffers. According to the Department of Justice, Jin and his co-conspirators used stolen identities, fake résumés, and U.S.-based “laptop farms” to trick at least sixty-four American companies into hiring them for IT work. Behind the keyboards? North Korea’s state-sponso...