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Oleksandr Didenko sentencing in North Korean IT worker identity-theft case

Law Enforcement
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A federal court sentenced Oleksandr Didenko to 60 months in prison for helping a North Korean IT worker identity-theft scheme infiltrate U.S. companies. The court also imposed 12 months of supervised release and more than $1.4 million in forfeiture, deepening the criminal consequences of the operation. Prosecutors said the scheme used stolen identities, proxy accounts, and laptop farms to disguise the workers' locations. The case shows how identity theft can be used to support remote fraud and unauthorized access to legitimate employers.

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Timeline

  1. 20.02.2026 11:00 2 articles · 3mo ago

    Oleksandr Didenko sentenced for North Korean IT worker identity theft

    Legal Policy Action Update

    A U.S. federal court sentenced Ukrainian national Oleksandr Didenko to 60 months in prison, 12 months of supervised release, and more than $1.4 million in forfeiture after prosecutors said he stole U.S. citizens' identities and sold them to North Korean remote workers through UpWorkSell and other freelance IT hiring platforms. The identities were used to fraudulently obtain jobs with 40 U.S. companies, and the operation also relied on at least 871 proxy identities and proxy accounts plus at least eight laptop farms across the United States, Europe, and Ecuador to make the workers appear U.S.-based. Didenko had pleaded guilty in November 2025 after being arrested in Poland in May 2024.

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