Defense contractor pleads guilty in North Korea remote-job scheme
Original title: Defense contractor pleads guilty to aiding North Korean remote worker scheme
John Allen Kurrle Jr. faces up to 20 years; sentencing is set for January 28, 2027, with restitution of about $7,000.
The Justice Department said John Allen Kurrle Jr., 62, a defense contractor with top secret clearance, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for letting co-conspirators use his identity on at least 88 U.S. job applications. Nine offers followed between June and October 2025, with listed salaries of $120,000 to $190,000, but the longest placement lasted about three weeks and paid $4,800. He hosted company laptops, including one for a generative AI military project that the employer ended after a video check. He also admitted using a third person’s identity and does not dispute the scheme likely benefited North Korea, while saying he did not know of that link at the time.
Unconfirmed: Kurrle claims he was unaware of North Korean connections while he took part.
- One co-conspirator was paid almost $2,200 for 32 hours of onboarding before termination.
- Kurrle must repay that sum plus the $4,800 from the other placement.
- DTEX researchers had previously identified him as a facilitator but not whether he was a victim.
- He lives in Gainesville, Virginia, and received laptops shipped by victim companies.
- Organizations
- Justice DepartmentDTEX
- Countries
- North KoreaUnited States
From the original article
4 min read at cyberscoop.com
The 62-year-old allowed co-conspirators to use his identity and top secret security clearance to apply for almost 100 jobs last year. The scheme’s success rate was limited. The post Defense contractor pleads guilty to aiding North Korean remote worker scheme appeared first on CyberScoop.
By Matt Kapko · cyberscoop.com
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