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 infiltration have pleaded guilty.

According to Odaily Planet Daily, 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 Department of Justice 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 to forfeit and return them to the victims.

In addition, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that four U.S. citizens and one Ukrainian national have pleaded guilty to providing stolen identity information to North Korean IT personnel and hosting their company laptops to make them 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 the identities of at least 18 U.S. citizens. (The Block)