Federal authorities say they seized more than 100 laptops in North Texas as part of an investigation into a scheme that allegedly used fake remote workers to generate money and access sensitive information for the North Korean government. Officials said indictments are expected for people who knowingly hosted the computers. U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Ryan Raybould and Joseph Rothrock, the FBI’s Dallas field office special agent in charge, discussed the operation at a news conference Tuesday, Oct. 13. The North Texas effort, called Operation Lone Star Round-Up, took place in late September. Related operations were conducted elsewhere in Texas and in Louisiana, Nevada, Kentucky and Ohio. Raybould said North Korean information technology workers use false identities to get jobs with U.S. companies, with wages allegedly funneled to the government in Pyongyang. He said the revenue supports North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic weapons programs. The U.S. Treasury estimated the scheme generated more than $800 million for North Korea in fiscal year 2024, he said. Authorities said computers supplied to the workers were kept in so-called laptop farms inside U.S. residences. Connected to specialized devices, the laptops could provide access to company systems and personal information, officials said. Rothrock said each seized laptop represented a company that may have been affected. The officials urged employers to strengthen checks on remote hires, including using E-Verify and requiring multiple forms of identification. Raybould said people who knowingly allowed their homes to be used to host the laptop operations would face indictments.