DOJ arrests two, seizes 187 devices in North Korean laptop farm crackdown in Texas

By AJ Vicens Oct 13 (Reuters) — The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday announced the arrests of two Americans accused of helping North Korean IT workers to steal identities and obtain fraudulent employment at US companies to earn money for the North Korean government. The agency announced the arrests of Michael James Bostelle, of Pennsylvania, and Juan Ceclilio Pena Carrillo, of Texas, on charges of wire fraud, money laundering, and identity theft as part of the alleged scheme, the DOJ said. As part of the crackdown, the DOJ announced that the FBI conducted searches and took other action between September 21 and September 25 at more than 40 residences in Texas thought to be operating as “laptop farms,” for North Korean IT workers, the DOJ said. The FBI seized roughly 187 laptops and other devices used to carry out the scheme. The indictment also charged Sun Sheng Ming, Pei Li Guang, Weng Shou Cheng, Han Guo Bin, Wang Jian Jun, Sheng Zhang Kun, Zhang Wei Ping, Zhang Li Ping, Yu Yang and Jin Long, all based in China, for their roles in the operation, according to the statement. According to an indictment unsealed Tuesday, the Chinese-based operators directed Pena and Tey Michael N