US DOJ add more sentence dem for 'laptop farmers' over North Korean remote work scam

US Department of Justice talk say dem don secure two more sentences against "laptop farmers" wey help North Korean IT workers work remotely for inside US. Prosecutors talk say the campaign don produce eight sentences across five months, show how laptop farmers dey infiltrate US companies and increase cyber and compliance risk for tech sector and crypto-adjacent firms. For this round, Nashville resident Matthew Issac Knoot and New York resident Erick Ntekereze Prince both get 18 months jail. DOJ claim say dem act as US-based proxies: laptops dem dey ship to the defendants for new-hire setups, dem go install remote desktop software, and the North Koreans fit work make e look like say na US employees dem be. For money matter, dem order Prince to forfeit $89,000, while Knoot get $15,100 restitution and $15,100 forfeiture. Prosecutors estimate say the two help make about $1.2 million for North Korea and affect nearly 70 US companies. The article still point to earlier convictions, including one last month where Kejia Wang and Zhenxing Wang collect more than 16 years together for running laptop farms steady, using 80 stolen identities, and make over $5 million illegal revenue. Related reporting wey the article cite show companies wey dey hire North Korean workers don rise sharply, and AI reportedly dey used to automate job applications. E also mention another US case about North Korea wey involve more than $900,000 alleged crypto theft through fake remote-employment identities. For crypto traders, main thing be say these laptop farmers still remain persistent cyber threat. Market relevance na indirect: higher counterparty risk, pressure on operational security, and possible knock-on impacts for crypto businesses rather than direct change to any coin’s fundamentals.