16 May 2024 (US Department of State-Media)

The U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice (RFJ) program, which is administered by the Diplomatic Security Service, is offering a reward of up to $5 million for information that leads to the disruption of financial mechanisms of persons engaged in certain activities that support the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). Such activities include money laundering that supports the Government of North Korea or any senior official or person acting for or on behalf of that government.

The Department is seeking information on North Korean information technology (IT) workers using aliases Jiho Han, Chunji Jin, and Haoran Xu, and their manager Zhonghua. These individuals engaged in a scheme that enabled Han, Jin, and Xu to obtain illicit telework employment with U.S. companies using false identities belonging to more than 60 real U.S. persons. The illicit scheme generated at least $6.8 million for the DPRK.

From about October 2020 until October 2023, U.S. national Christina Chapman helped Han, Jin, and Xu obtain work as remote software and applications developers with companies in a range of sectors and industries. They also attempted — but failed — to gain similar employment at two U.S. government agencies. These IT workers are linked to the DPRK’s Munitions Industry Department, which oversees the development of the DPRK’s ballistic missiles, weapons production, and research and development programs.

Chapman assisted the North Korean IT workers in acquiring valid identities of real U.S. citizens. She also received and hosted laptop computers issued to the IT workers by U.S. employers to make it appear that the overseas workers were located in the United States and assisted the workers in connecting remotely to the U.S. companies’ IT networks on a daily basis. She also helped launder the proceeds from the scheme by receiving, processing, and distributing paychecks from the U.S. firms to these IT workers and others.

Rewards for Justice (RFJ) is the U.S. Department of State’s premier national security rewards program. It was established by the 1984 Act to Combat International Terrorism, Public Law 98-533 (codified at 22 U.S.C. § 2708) and is administered by the Bureau of Diplomatic Security. The mission of RFJ is to offer rewards for information that protects American lives and furthers U.S. national security objectives.