The US Department of Justice has seized over $15.1 million in USDT stolen by North Korean hackers, and five individuals who assisted in the infiltrati...

According to Mars Finance, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it has initiated forfeiture proceedings for over $15.1 million in USDT stolen by North Korean hackers and has successfully obtained plea agreements from five individuals who assisted North Korean IT personnel in infiltrating U.S. companies. The DOJ stated that the seized crypto assets are linked to the North Korean military hacking group APT38, which attacked four overseas cryptocurrency platforms in 2023. The FBI seized the funds in March 2025 and is currently seeking court approval for forfeiture and return to the victims. Furthermore, the DOJ announced that four U.S. citizens and one Ukrainian national have pleaded guilty to providing North Korean IT personnel with stolen identity information and hosting their company laptops, enabling them to appear to be working in the United States. These actions helped North Korean IT personnel successfully infiltrate 136 U.S. companies, generating over $2.2 million in revenue for the North Korean government and resulting in the theft of identities from at least 18 U.S. citizens.