The defendants managed laptop farms that generated more than $5 million in illicit revenue for the government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Kejia Wang, 42, of Edison, New Jersey, received 108 months in prison. Zhenxing Wang, 39, of New Brunswick, New Jersey, was sentenced to 92 months.
Both pleaded guilty in the District of Massachusetts to conspiracy charges including wire fraud, money laundering, and identity theft. U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton also ordered each defendant to serve three years of supervised release.
The court ordered the defendants to forfeit a total of $600,000. The United States has already received $400,000 of that amount. The court also ordered Kejia Wang to pay $29,236.03 in restitution.
From approximately 2021 until October 2024, the scheme used the stolen identities of at least 80 U.S. persons. The defendants created shell companies, including Hopana Tech LLC, Tony WKJ LLC, and Independent Lab LLC, to receive millions in fraudulent payments from victim companies.
Kejia Wang traveled to China twice in 2023 to coordinate with overseas actors. He supervised at least five U.S.-based facilitators who hosted hundreds of company laptops at their residences.
The facilitators used keyboard-video-mouse switches to enable remote access by North Korean workers. This setup allowed overseas actors to infiltrate U.S. businesses and access sensitive data.
The scheme caused U.S. victim companies to incur at least $3 million in legal fees, network remediation costs, and other damages.
IT workers employed under the scheme gained access to sensitive employer data, including International Traffic in Arms Regulations data from a California-based defense contractor.
The other eight defendants indicted in June 2025 remain at large. The Department of State's Rewards for Justice program announced a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to their disruption.