Kejia Wang, 42, was sentenced to nine years in prison after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to commit identity theft.

Zhenxing Wang, 39, was sentenced to 92 months after he admitted to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The pair, both US citizens from New Jersey, were involved in a so-called "laptop farms" operation which hosted computers that overseas individuals could remotely log into posing as US-based workers.

More than 100 US companies were targeted, including a number of Fortune 500 firms and a defense contractor, the Justice Department said.

"The ruse placed North Korean IT workers on the payrolls of unwitting US companies and in US computer systems, thereby potentially harming our national security," said John Eisenberg, assistant attorney general for national security.

Kejia Wang served as the US-based manager for the scheme, which ran from around 2021 to 2024, supervising at least five individuals who collectively hosted hundreds of computers at their homes.

Zhenxing Wang was one of the facilitators who allowed overseas IT workers to access the laptops by connecting them to hardware devices for remote access.

They were charged in June 2025 along with eight others outside the United States who remain at large.

"This case exposes a sophisticated scheme that exploited stolen American identities and US companies to generate millions of dollars for a hostile foreign regime," said US Attorney Leah Foley.

The Justice Department said that North Korean IT worker ploys have been known to generate millions of dollars each year for North Korea's defense ministry and weapons programs.