Case 1:25-cr-00061-JRH-BKE Document 1 Filed 09/04/25 Page 1 of 6

FILED
Clerk of Court
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT United States District Court

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA

By PaulSullivan at 4:18 pm, Sep 04, 2025

AUGUSTA DIVISION

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ) INFORMATION CR125-061

)
v. ) 18 U.S.C. § 1349
) Wire Fraud Conspiracy
AUDRICUS PHAGNASAY )

THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY CHARGES THAT:

Introduction:

At all times material to this Information:

DPRK IT Workers

1. Since 2003, the government of the Democratic People’s Republic of

Korea (“DPRK” or “North Korea”) has been under sanction by the United Nations

(“U.N.”) due to, among other things, its nuclear weapons program. Since 2016, the

United States has likewise had comprehensive trade and economic sanctions against

North Korea due to the national security threats posed by North Korea, including

its nuclear weapons program. The sanctions effectively cut North Korea off from the

U.S. marketplace and financial system and restricted the ability of U.S. persons and

companies from doing business with DPRK institutions. As a result, North Korea

has sponsored a variety of schemes to evade the U.S. and U.N. sanctions and earn

money for the regime.

2. One such scheme involves the use of highly skilled information

technology (“IT”) workers to obtain remote, pseudonymous employment with

companies around the world, including the United States, using false or stolen

1
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identities. According to a May 2022 advisory by the Department of State, the

Department of the Treasury, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the DPRK

has dispatched thousands of IT workers around the world, earning revenue that

contributes to the DPRK’s weapons programs, in violation of U.S. and U.N.

sanctions.

3. These workers: (i) misrepresent themselves as foreign (non-DPRK) or

U.S.-based remote workers using false or stolen identification documents; (ii)

obfuscate their location using virtual private networks (“VPNs”), virtual private

servers (“VPSs”), third- country internet protocol (“IP”) addresses, and proxy

accounts; (iii) surreptitiously obtain remote IT jobs with companies spanning a range

of sectors and industries around the world; (iv) develop applications and software for

their employers; (v) in some instances, use privileged access gained through such

employment for other illicit purposes, including enabling malicious cyber intrusions

into an employer’s network; and (vi) use U.S. financial institutions to launder wages

paid by employers to overseas accounts controlled by DPRK actors and their co-

conspirators. DPRK IT workers often enlist U.S. persons to facilitate remote

employment schemes.
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COUNT ONE
Wire Fraud Conspiracy
18 U.S.C. § 1349

4. Paragraphs 1 through 3 of the Information are incorporated by

reference as if fully set forth herein.

5. From on or about December 10, 2019, until on or about December

13, 2021, in the Southern District of Georgia and elsewhere, the Defendant,

AUDRICUS PHAGNASAY,

did willfully and knowingly combine, conspire, confederate, and agree with others

known and unknown to commit wire fraud, that is having devise and intending to

devise any scheme and artifice to defraud and for obtaining money and property by

means of false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises, transmit

and causes to be transmitted by means of wire communications in interstate and

foreign commerce, any writings, signs, signals, pictures and sounds for the purpose

of executing such scheme and artifice and in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343.

6. The Defendant knowingly allowed his identity to be used by overseas

IT workers and others known and unknown to: (1) create resumes in the Defendant’s

name with false information about his experience; (2) use those false representations

and the Defendant’s identity to obtain employment with U.S. companies; (3) pass

employer vetting procedures such as video interviews; and (4) open financial services

accounts in the Defendant’s name to receive payments from U.S. companies for work

the Defendant was not performing.

7. The Defendant received laptops at his home provided by U.S.

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companies to overseas IT workers who were using the Defendant’s identity. The

Defendant also installed unauthorized remote access software on company-provided

laptops and allowed overseas IT workers using his identity to access the laptops

remotely to complete tasks assigned by the U.S. companies. Because these IT

workers remotely accessed laptops located in the Defendant’s home, it appeared to

the U.S. company employers that the Defendant was performing assigned work from

his home in the United States.

8. The Defendant’s actions caused at least ten U.S. companies to hire one

or more overseas IT workers and pay those individuals a combined total of over

$680,000 in salary. For his participation in this scheme, the Defendant received at

least $3,450.

All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349.

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FORFEITURE ALLEGATION

The allegations contained in Count One of this Information are hereby re-

alleged and incorporated by reference for the purpose of alleging forfeitures pursuant

to Title 18, United States Code, Section 981(a)(1)(C) and Title 28, United States Code,

Section 2461.

Upon conviction of any of the offenses alleged in Count One, the Defendant,

AUDRICUS PHAGNASAY, shall forfeit to the United States pursuant to Title 18,

United States Code, Section 981(a)(1)(C) and Title 28, United States Code, Section

2461, any property, real or personal, constituting or derived from proceeds traceable

to said violation. Subject to forfeiture is a sum of money equal to the total value of

any property, real or personal, constituting or derived from any proceeds traceable to

said violations charged in Count 1.

If any of the property described above, as a result of any act or commission of

the Defendant:

a. cannot be located upon the exercise of due diligence;

b. has been transferred or sold to, or deposited with, a third party;

c. has been placed beyond the jurisdiction of the court;

d. has been substantially diminished in value; or

e. has been commingled with other property which cannot be

divided without difficulty,
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the United States of America shall be entitled to forfeiture of substitute property

pursuant to Title 21, United States Code, Section 853(p) as incorporated by Title 28,

United States Code, Section 2461(c).

MARGARET E. HEAP
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY

/s/ E. Greg Gilluly, Jr.

E. Greg Gilluly, Jr.

Assistant United States Attorney
Deputy Chief, Criminal Division

/s/ L. Alexander Hamner

L. Alexander Hamner
Assistant United States Attorney
*Lead Counsel

/s/ Jacques Singer-Emery

Jacques Singer-Emery
Trial Attorney