FBI Charges Nine Including Four North Koreans in $1.1 Million Crypto Theft Scheme Targeting Buckhead Startup

The FBI has charged nine individuals in connection with a scheme to raise funds for North Korea's weapons of mass destruction program through cryptocurrency theft. Among those arrested are four North Korean nationals implicated in stealing nearly $1.1 million in cryptocurrency from an Atlanta-based tech startup located in Buckhead. The operation involved North Korean agents using fake companies and websites to impersonate identities and finance the Pyongyang regime. The owner of the targeted startup initially suspected an employee of theft, but the FBI clarified that the employee was actually a North Korean scammer involved in the scheme.