US Arrests Two in Crackdown on North Korean IT Worker Laptop Farms
Two US nationals, Michael James Bostelle and Juan Cecilio Pena Carrillo, were arrested for allegedly helping North Korean IT workers obtain remote jobs at US companies. The scheme ran from 2019 to July 2025 and generated over $3 million, with IT workers hired at more than 70 US firms; the FBI seized 187 laptops in Operation Lonestar Roundup.
- Scheme ran from 2019 to July 2025 and generated over $3 million
- North Korean IT workers were hired at more than 70 US companies
- FBI seized 187 laptops and KVM devices across 40 Texas locations
- Ten additional defendants based in China were also charged
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