Ukrainian sentenced to 5 years in prison for facilitating North Korean remote worker scheme | CyberScoop<\/title> <meta name=\"description\" content=\"Oleksandr Didenko ran laptop farms and provided forged or stolen identities to North Korean operatives who gained remote employment at 40 U.S. businesses.\"> <link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/doj-ukrainian-north-korea-remote-worker-scheme-facilitator-sentenced\/\"> <meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\"> <meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\"> <meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ukrainian sentenced to 5 years in prison for facilitating North Korean remote worker scheme\"> <meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Oleksandr Didenko ran laptop farms and provided forged or stolen identities to North Korean operatives who gained remote employment at 40 U.S. businesses.\"> <meta property=\"og:url\" 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class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <main id=\"main\" role=\"main\" tabindex=\"-1\"> <\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--top ad--top-mobile\">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<section id=\"stickybar\" class=\"stickybar stickybar--newsletter js-stickybar\" readability=\"0.82\"> <button class=\"stickybar__close js-stickybar-close\" aria-controls=\"stickybar\"> <svg class=\"icon icon--close\" width=\"21\" height=\"22\" viewBox=\"0 0 21 22\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"m.822.518-.805.805L9.695 11 .017 20.678l.805.805 9.678-9.678 9.677 9.678.806-.805L11.305 11l9.678-9.677-.806-.805-9.677 9.677L.822.518Z\" fill=\"currentColor\" \/><\/svg> <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Close<\/span> <\/button> <\/section>\n<article class=\"single-article content\">\n<div class=\"single-article__container js-single-article-content\">\n<header class=\"single-article__header \" readability=\"25.525735294118\">\n<div class=\"single-article__header-content\" readability=\"34.374717832957\">\n<ul class=\"single-article__eyebrow\">\n<li class=\"single-article__category\"> <a class=\"single-article__category-link\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/doj-ukrainian-north-korea-remote-worker-scheme-facilitator-sentenced\/\"> <span>Cybercrime<\/span> <\/a> <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> Oleksandr Didenko ran laptop farms and provided forged or stolen identities to North Korean operatives who gained remote employment at 40 U.S. businesses. <\/p>\n<p>  <br \/>\n<audio id=\"audio-player\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-tts-cdn.api.scpnewsgrp.com\/cyberscoop\/87859\/english.openai.mp3\"><\/audio> <\/p>\n<div readability=\"11\">\n<div>\n<p>Listen to this article<\/p>\n<p>  <\/p>\n<p>0:00<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>  <\/p>\n<p> <span id=\"tts-tooltip\">Learn more.<\/span> <span> This feature uses an automated voice, which may result in occasional errors in pronunciation, tone, or sentiment. <\/span> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>  <\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__cover-wrap\">\n<figure class=\"single-article__cover\"> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ukrainian-sentenced-to-5-years-in-prison-for-facilitating-north-korean-remote-worker-scheme.jpg?resize=640%2C426&ssl=1\" class=\"single-article__cover-image wp-post-image\" alt decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ukrainian-sentenced-to-5-years-in-prison-for-facilitating-north-korean-remote-worker-scheme-2.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ukrainian-sentenced-to-5-years-in-prison-for-facilitating-north-korean-remote-worker-scheme-2.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ukrainian-sentenced-to-5-years-in-prison-for-facilitating-north-korean-remote-worker-scheme-2.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ukrainian-sentenced-to-5-years-in-prison-for-facilitating-north-korean-remote-worker-scheme-2.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ukrainian-sentenced-to-5-years-in-prison-for-facilitating-north-korean-remote-worker-scheme-2.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ukrainian-sentenced-to-5-years-in-prison-for-facilitating-north-korean-remote-worker-scheme-2.jpg?resize=600,400 600w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ukrainian-sentenced-to-5-years-in-prison-for-facilitating-north-korean-remote-worker-scheme-2.jpg?resize=252,168 252w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ukrainian-sentenced-to-5-years-in-prison-for-facilitating-north-korean-remote-worker-scheme-2.jpg?resize=506,337 506w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ukrainian-sentenced-to-5-years-in-prison-for-facilitating-north-korean-remote-worker-scheme-2.jpg?resize=1013,675 1013w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ukrainian-sentenced-to-5-years-in-prison-for-facilitating-north-korean-remote-worker-scheme-2.jpg?resize=1265,843 1265w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1013px) 100vw, 1013px\"><figcaption> The North Korean flag flies over its embassy in Beijing. (Photo by PETER PARKS\/AFP via Getty Images) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"single-article__content\">\n<div class=\"single-article__content-inner has-drop-cap\"> <html readability=\"35.689533861038\"><body readability=\"72.862765229295\"><\/p>\n<p>A Ukrainian national who ran multiple operations to aid the North Korean government\u2019s expansive scheme to hire remote IT workers at U.S. companies was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-dc\/pr\/ukrainian-national-sentenced-laptop-farm-scheme-generated-income-north-korean-it-workers\">sentenced to five years in prison<\/a>, the Justice Department said Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>Oleksandr Didenko stole U.S. citizens\u2019 identities and created more than 2,500 fraudulent accounts on freelance IT job forums, money service transmitters, email services, and social media platforms to sell the proxy identities to North Korean workers. The 29-year-old <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/doj-north-korea-it-worker-scheme-cases-crypto-seized\/\">pleaded guilty<\/a> to multiple crimes related to the six-year scheme in November 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Didenko ran a site, upworksell.com, to sell the stolen identities and paid co-conspirators to receive and host laptop farms in Virginia, Tennessee and California, according to court records. He managed up to 871 identities through the laptop farms and helped North Korean technical workers gain employment at 40 U.S. companies. <\/p>\n<p>Didenko funneled money from Americans and U.S. businesses into the coffers of North Korea\u2019s hostile regime, Jeanine Pirro, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said in a statement. <\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cToday, North Korea is not only a threat to the homeland from afar, it is an enemy within. By using stolen and fraudulent identities, North Korean actors are infiltrating American companies, stealing information, licensing, and data that is harmful to any business,\u201d she added. <\/p>\n<p>Officials said Didenko\u2019s North Korean clients were paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for their work, much of which was falsely reported in the names of U.S. citizens whose identities were stolen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMoney paid to these so-called employees goes directly to munitions programs in North Korea,\u201d Pirro said. \u201cThis is not just a financial crime; it is a crime against national security.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>In late 2023, following a request from one of his customers, Didenko sent a computer to a laptop farm run by <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/arizona-woman-arrested-and-charged-in-north-korean-it-worker-scheme\/\">Christina Chapman in Arizona<\/a>, officials said. Chapman was arrested in May 2024 and sentenced to 102 months in prison for participating in the scheme.<\/p>\n<p>Didenko\u2019s site was seized following Chapman\u2019s arrest. He was arrested by Polish police in late 2024, and later extradited to the United States. <\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Didenko pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft, and agreed to forfeit more than $1.4 million as part of his sentencing. He was also ordered to pay almost $47,000 in restitution.<\/p>\n<p>U.S. law enforcement has racked up some wins by seizing stolen cryptocurrency and targeting U.S.-based facilitators who provide forged or stolen identities for North Korean operatives. <\/p>\n<p>Yet, the regime\u2019s scheme runs deep. North Korean nationals have <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/north-korea-workers-infiltrate-fortune-500\/\">infiltrated many top global companies<\/a>, and researchers continue to uncover evidence of new tactics and techniques operatives have used to evade detection.<\/p>\n<p>You can read the full indictment below.<\/p>\n<p> <\/body> <\/p>\n<footer class=\"single-article__footer\" readability=\"3.6516393442623\">\n<div class=\"author-card\" readability=\"14\">\n<div class=\"author-card__avatar\">\n<figure class=\"author-card__image-wrap\"> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"author-card__image\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ukrainian-sentenced-to-5-years-in-prison-for-facilitating-north-korean-remote-worker-scheme-1.jpg?w=640&ssl=1\" alt=\"Matt Kapko\"> <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><h4 class=\"author-card__name\">Written by Matt Kapko<\/h4>\n<p> Matt Kapko is a reporter at CyberScoop. His beat includes cybercrime, ransomware, software defects and vulnerability (mis)management. The lifelong Californian started his journalism career in 2001 with previous stops at Cybersecurity Dive, CIO, SDxCentral and RCR Wireless News. 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{"id":8371,"date":"2026-02-19T16:59:27","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T22:59:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/?p=87859"},"modified":"2026-02-19T16:59:27","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T22:59:27","slug":"ukrainian-sentenced-to-5-years-in-prison-for-facilitating-north-korean-remote-worker-scheme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/2026\/02\/19\/ukrainian-sentenced-to-5-years-in-prison-for-facilitating-north-korean-remote-worker-scheme\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukrainian sentenced to 5 years in prison for facilitating North Korean remote worker scheme"},"content":{"rendered":"