Charlotte man arrested by FBI after being indicted in North Korea plot

Posted by author January 25, 2025 Jobs

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) – A U.S. citizen in Charlotte is accused of working with North Korea.

Emmanuel Ashtor, of Charlotte, was in court Thursday, Jan. 23. According to newly unsealed court documents, he and others around the globe worked together to raise money for North Korea.

Prosecutors accuse Ashtor and others of fraudulently getting remote IT jobs at more than 60 U.S. companies for North Koreans.

According to the indictment, from April 2018 through August 2024, Ashtor and four others obtained work from at least 64 U.S. companies. Payments from 10 of those companies generated at least $866,255 in revenue.

The FBI executed a search warrant of Ashtor’s home in Charlotte, where investigators said he previously operated a “laptop farm” that hosted victim company-provided laptops to deceive companies into thinking they had hired U.S.-located workers.

The North Koreans would remote into the laptops these companies would send Ashtor.

The indictment states Ashtor and four others used fake and stolen identity documents, including U.S. passports contianing the stolen personally identifiable information of an American person, to conceal the true identities of the people involved.

The salaries for the fake workers would then be transferred to a Chinese bank account. Court documents state Ashtor was paid more than $40,000 for his involvement.

Ashtor and the four others accused of being involved are charged with conspiracy to cause damage to a protected computer, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to transfer false identification documents. If convicted, they face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

The FBI Miami Field Office is investigating the case.