Two Americans Jailed for $1.2M North Korea Laptop Farm Scheme
The Justice Department said Matthew Isaac Knoot of Nashville and Erick Ntekereze Prince of New York helped overseas North Korean workers appear to be working from inside the United States, allowing them to access corporate networks and earn salaries that were routed overseas.
Two American men have been sentenced to 18 months in prison each for helping North Korean IT workers fraudulently obtain remote jobs at US companies through so-called laptop farms.
The Justice Department said Matthew Isaac Knoot of Nashville and Erick Ntekereze Prince of New York helped overseas North Korean workers appear to be working from inside the United States, allowing them to access corporate networks and earn salaries that were routed overseas.
The scheme involved company-issued laptops being sent to US addresses controlled by Knoot and Prince. The men then installed remote desktop software, allowing North Korean workers abroad to control the computers while employers believed the workers were based in the US.
Officials said the workers used stolen identities to apply for jobs. In one case tied to Knoot, a North Korean worker used the stolen identity of “Andrew M.” while Knoot maintained the equipment at his Nashville residences. Knoot’s laptop farm operated from July 2022 until August 2023, when the FBI raided his home.
Prince operated through his company, Taggcar Inc., and helped at least three North Korean IT workers obtain remote jobs from about June 2020 through August 2024. He pleaded guilty to wire-fraud conspiracy in November.
The Justice Department said the broader operation targeted nearly 70 US companies and generated more than $1.2 million. Victim companies paid more than $250,000 to IT workers connected to Knoot’s operation and more than $943,000 to workers connected to Prince’s. Most of the money was sent overseas, with officials saying the scheme helped fund North Korea despite US sanctions.
Assistant Attorney General John Eisenberg said the defendants helped North Korean IT workers “masquerade as legitimate employees,” compromising US corporate networks and generating revenue for a sanctioned regime.
US Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones said the case involved deliberate actions that exposed American businesses, undermined trust and supported “one of the world’s most dangerous adversaries.”
Knoot was ordered to pay $15,100 in restitution and forfeit another $15,100. Prince was ordered to forfeit $89,000. Officials also said Knoot caused more than $500,000 in auditing and remediation costs, while Prince’s actions caused more than $1 million in remediation costs.
The FBI has warned since at least 2023 that North Korea uses thousands of IT workers and stolen identities to infiltrate American companies. Knoot and Prince are the seventh and eighth US-based laptop farm operators sentenced this year under a federal initiative targeting North Korea’s illicit revenue schemes.
Several other suspects, including two North Korean nationals, remain at large.