‘The Big Money Show’ panelists broke up the dispute between Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren when they got back at him about the bond yields.
The Trump administration imposed new sanctions Wednesday targeting a North Korean government scheme that the Treasury Department says uses false identities to place IT workers at legitimate U.S. companies and funnel the proceeds to Pyongyang’s weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs.
Ten individuals and one entity charged with helping operate or finance the scheme were sanctioned by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
According to the Treasury, the workers allegedly used stolen identities, fraudulent documents and false personas to obtain legitimate technology jobs in the US and allied countries.
“The North Korean regime continues to target and exploit American companies through fraudulent activities conducted by overseas IT operators, who use sensitive data and extort businesses for large payments,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.
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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced sanctions targeting individuals and entities accused of facilitating a North Korean IT worker fraud scheme involving American businesses. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/Getty Images)
“Under President Trump’s leadership, the Treasury will continue to use all tools available to protect US businesses from this nefarious activity and hold those responsible accountable,” he said.
According to the Treasury, the scheme involved North Korean workers hiding their identities and citizenships to secure employment with legitimate businesses.
Once employed, the regime allegedly collected most of the salaries, generating hundreds of millions of dollars that the Treasury said helped fund North Korea’s weapons program.
The new sanctions target individuals and entities accused of supporting the plan for the North Korean government.
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The Treasury Department said North Korea has been using overseas IT workers operating under false identities to generate revenue for the regime’s weapons program. (Budrul Chukrut/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images/Getty Images)
The Treasury also said North Korean IT workers spread malware, stole sensitive data and proprietary information and extorted companies, posing a risk to businesses around the world.
The network uses cryptocurrency, sophisticated money laundering techniques and artificial intelligence tools to generate and transfer funds for the North Korean government, according to Finance.
Among those sanctioned is Russian intermediary Vitold Viktorovich Obertas, who allegedly handled nearly $2 million in digital currency and at least $1.25 million in other currency transactions for North Korean officials since January 2025.
Another Russian citizen, Ilya Aleksandrovich Boykov, allegedly supported a previously sanctioned North Korean entity by facilitating cryptocurrency transactions worth $3.5 million from 2024.
Finance said the First Financial and Technical Development Center, a North Korean-controlled entity located in Russia, assigned highly trained North Korean IT workers who allegedly used “Super Intelligence (SI) personal” and advanced money laundering methods, including complex cryptocurrency transfers.
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President Donald Trump’s administration imposed new sanctions targeting North Korean networks accused of using fraudulent IT labor schemes to generate income for Pyongyang. (Alex WROBLEWSKI/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)
The Treasury previously imposed separate sanctions on another network of North Korean IT workers in March.
These sanctions block property and interests in property owned by designated individuals and entities located in the U.S. or under the ownership or control of U.S. persons and generally prohibit U.S. persons from engaging in transactions involving them, unless authorized by OFAC.