Category: National

(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department on Monday charged four North Koreans in a brazen scam to pose as IT workers with stolen credentials and use them to get hired by U.S.-based companies and scam those companies out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Kim Kwang Jin, Kang Tae Bok, Jong Pong Ju and Chang Nam Il are all allegedly “citizens of North Korea who used stolen and false personally identifiable information to pose as non-North Koreans and thereby obtain employment with technology companies, gain victim companies’ trust, obtain access to virtual currency assets controlled by victim companies, steal those virtual currency assets, and launder the proceeds of that activity.”

Federal authorities in Atlanta, Georgia said that the four allegedly stole $900,000 in cryptocurrency from one company, according to prosecutors, and the scheme has been ongoing since at least 2020.

In one instance, a U.S. company hired who they thought was Malaysian IT worker “Bryan Cho,” but in reality they hired Jong Pong Ju, who was a North Korean bad actor, according to the Justice Department.

Hiring “Byran Cho” also allowed for other North Koreans to be brought into the fold, including Chang Nam Il, the department said.

“On or about March 29, 2022, defendant KIM KW ANG JIN, without Company-1’s knowledge or consent, modified the source code for two smart contracts owned and controlled by Company-1 that resided on the Ethereum and Polygon blockchains. Defendant KIM KW ANG JIN’ s modifications to these smart contracts changed the rules governing the withdrawal of virtual currency from two funding pools controlled by Company-1,” the court record says.

The four are not in the U.S., the department noted.

In total, the Justice Department seized 29 known or suspected “laptop farms” across 16 states, and seized 29 financial accounts used to launder illicit funds and 21 fraudulent websites, and charged four North Korean nationals, six Chinese nationals and two Taiwanese nationals for their involvement in separate information technology worker schemes, DOJ officials told reporters on a call with reporters on Monday.

In Massachusetts, the Justice Department alleges that nine more North Koreans posed as IT workers and were able to cause $3 million in losses from more than 100 U.S. companies, including some Fortune 500 companies over a four-year period, as well as steal “export controls and US military technology off the company’s network,” the official said.

Kejia Wang, a U.S. citizen, worked with others abroad to “to facilitate the criminal schemes” alleged by the Justice Department. According to senior DOJ officials, Wang was arrested on Monday.

Similar to the case unsealed earlier today in Georgia, workers posing as tech workers used fraudulent identification cards to dupe U.S. companies., according to the department.

Authorities said that it is not only profitable for the North Koreans, but they attempt to steal U.S. secrets as well.

“These schemes target and steal from U.S. companies and are designed to evade sanctions and fund the North Korean regime’s illicit programs, including its weapons programs,” John A. Eisenberg, Assistant Attorney General for the Department’s National Security Division, said in a release. “The Justice Department, along with our law enforcement, private sector, and international partners, will persistently pursue and dismantle these cyber-enabled revenue generation networks.”

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(BOULDER, Colo.) — An 82-year-old woman hurt in the Molotov cocktail attack in Boulder, Colorado, has died, prosecutors announced, as they updated an attempted murder charge to a murder charge.

Karen Diamond “died tragically as a result of the severe injuries that she suffered” on June 1, the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office said.

She is the only person to die from the attack, prosecutors said.

“Our hearts are with the Diamond family during this incredibly difficult time,” District Attorney Michael Dougherty said in a statement. “Our office will fight for justice for the victims, their loved ones, and the community.”

The district attorney’s office also said it has found 14 more victims during the investigation and added 66 counts to the state indictment against Mohamed Soliman.

On June 1, Soliman allegedly threw Molotov cocktails at a group of marchers who were advocating for the release of the Israeli hostages outside the Boulder courthouse, prosecutors said. More than a dozen people were injured, officials said.

Soliman allegedly yelled “Free Palestine” during the attack, which he told police he was planning for one year, according to court documents.

Soliman allegedly told police “he wanted to kill all Zionist people,” court documents said. He also allegedly said “this had nothing to do with the Jewish community and was specific in the Zionist group supporting the killings of people on his land (Palestine),” documents said.

Soliman, who is in federal custody, pleaded not guilty to federal hate crime charges last week.

State charges against Soliman include first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and first-degree assault, prosecutors said. Soliman’s preliminary hearing in the state case is set for July 15.

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(IDLLWILD, Calif.) — A quickly growing brush fire in Southern California has spread at least 1,400 acres, prompting evacuations, according to fire officials.

The blaze, dubbed the Wolf Fire, was first reported around 3 p.m. Sunday afternoon near Wolfskill Truck Trail and Old Banning Idyllwild Road, according to the Riverside County Fire Department. The fire was just 10% contained as of Monday morning, according to Cal Fire.

Evacuation orders are in place for areas north of Poppet Flat Divide Truck Trail, south of Interstate 10, east of Highland Springs Avenue, and west of Old Cabazon Road, fire officials said.

The fire is impacting Highway 243, the road to the mountain community of Idyllwild.

Four helicopters and 300 personnel are currently fighting the fire, Cal Fire said. Air tankers were also dropping water on the fire “as conditions allow,” officials said.

The cause of the fire is unknown.

The Wolf Fire joins a spate of brush fires that have broken out in the region, including in San Bernardino and Riverside Counties.

There are currently five fires burning across the Inland Empire, according to Cal Fire.

The summer heat is reaching dangerous levels across parts of the desert Southwest with extreme heat warnings in effect Monday across portions of Arizona, including Phoenix and Tucson, as well as extreme southeastern California.

While this region expects to see hot weather this time of the year, afternoon highs will be 5 to 10 degree above average for late June, which makes this excessive, dangerous heat — even for the desert.

There are also red flag warnings in effect for Northern California because of the hot and dry conditions, as well as the abundance of lightning from passing dry thunderstorms.

ABC News’ Jenna Harrison, Tristan Maglunog and Kyle Reiman contributed to this report.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates

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(NEW YORK) — An LGBTQ+ Pride parade ended in gunfire near New York City’s historic Stonewall Inn on Sunday night, according to Mayor Eric Adams.

“Saddened to learn about the shooting by the Stonewall Inn tonight as Pride celebrations were winding down,” Adams wrote on X, adding, “During a time when our city should be rejoicing and celebrating members of our diverse LGBTQ+ community, incidents like this are devastating.”

Two teenage girls were injured in a shooting, according to New York ABC station WABC, which cited police. A 16-year-old girl was shot in the head and taken to the hospital in critical condition. A second girl, who was 17, was shot in the leg and taken to the hospital in stable condition.

The shooting appears to have stemmed from some sort of dispute, though the motive is unclear and no arrests have been made at this point in the investigation, WABC reported.

Shots rang out just after 10 p.m. at 3 Sheridan Square, in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village neighborhood.

A gun was recovered at the scene as the investigation into the incident is ongoing, according to WABC.

The Stonewall Inn, a gay bar and national historic landmark, became a monument in 2016 under former President Barack Obama, creating the country’s first national park site dedicated to LGBTQ+ history.

It was the site of the Stonewall Uprising on June 28, 1969, which began in response to routine police raids on the establishment, according to the Library of Congress. The conflict spanned multiple nights and drew national attention as bargoers resisted police.

ABC News’ Darren Reynolds and Ahmad Hemingway contributed to this report.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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(COUER D’ALENE, Idaho) — The suspected gunman who fatally ambushed firefighters in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, on Sunday has been found dead, according to the county’s sheriff.

Responding SWAT team members located a deceased male on Canfield Mountain with a firearm nearby, the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office said in an update Sunday evening.

This comes after an hourslong, multi-agency manhunt in the area.

The ambush on Sunday left two people dead and another injured, gunfire erupting as firefighters responded to a brush fire on the mountain.

Kootenai County Sheriff Robert Norris said during a press briefing that the two fatalities were fire personnel — one from the Coeur d’Alene Fire Department and the other from Kootenai County Fire Department.
“This was a total ambush,” Norris said. “These firefighters did not have a chance.”

The injured individual, who suffered a gunshot wound in the attack, was brought to the Kootenai Health Hospital, the medical center confirmed to ABC News.

The incident unfolded on Sunday afternoon, police said. Norris said the first report regarding the small brush fire was received at 1:21 p.m. Around 2 p.m., firefighters reported they were being shot at.

Some 300 law enforcement officers gathered at the scene, some of whom exchanged gunfire with the suspect, Norris said. Responding authorities received offers of help from the White House and FBI Director Kash Patel, the sheriff added.

At 6:30 p.m., those on the scene were told that the suspect should be neutralized as soon as possible. The notification that the suspect was dead was received at 7:40 p.m., Norris said. Law enforcement recovered the body before the fire spread to the spot, the sheriff said.

Based on the trajectory of fire and the weapon found close to the suspect’s body, Norris said officials believe there was only one shooter.

Law enforcement is investigating whether the fire could have been intentionally set in order to lure first responders to the scene, Kootenai County Sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Howard told ABC News.

The shelter-in-place order has been lifted for Canfield Mountain Trailhead and the surrounding area, but residents are advised to monitor for updates on the ongoing fire.

The FBI assisted authorities in Kootenai County, an agency spokesperson told ABC News.

Idaho Gov. Brad Little called the incident a “heinous direct assault on our brave firefighters.”

“Multiple heroic firefighters were attacked today while responding to a fire in North Idaho,” Little wrote in a post on X. “I ask all Idahoans to pray for them and their families as we wait to learn more,” he added.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has been briefed on the shooting, a DHS official told ABC News.

ABC News’ Tristan Maglunog, Luke Barr, Pierre Thomas and Darren Reynolds contributed to this report.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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(MINNEAPOLIS) — Tens of thousands of mourners packed a Minneapolis basilica Saturday to pay their final respects to Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark who were killed in their home two weeks ago in an alleged politically motivated shooting.

A who’s who of leaders from around the country, including former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris, attended the Catholic Mass where many of the couple’s friends, colleagues and family reflected on their years of service and friendship.

The couple and their dog Gilbert were shot in their home during the early morning hours of June 14, by a gunman who investigators say was targeting Democratic lawmakers. The suspect had shot and injured state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, a few hours earlier at their home.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz led the eulogies and honored Melissa Hortman for her years of work in the state House, callng her, “the most consequential speaker in Minnesota history.”

“I know millions of Minnesotans have lived their lives better because of Melissa and Mark,” he said.

Melissa Hortman was elected to state office in 2004 and rose through the ranks, becoming minority leader in 2017 and then speaker of the House two years later.

“She saw the humanity in every single person she worked with,” Walz said. “Her mission was to get as much good done for as many people as possible.”

Hortman and her husband were married for 31 years. Mark Hortman worked as a program manager for nVent Electric, a company that specialized in electronics, particularly green electronics, according to his Facebook and LinkedIn pages. The couple had two children, Sophie and Colin.

Walz talked about the couple’s warmth and dedication to their children and dog.

“You are amazing reflections of Mark and Melissa,” he said to their children.

A day before the funeral, the Hortmans lay in state as thousands of Minnesotans visited to pay their respects. Melissa Hortman is the first woman in Minnesota history to lie in state, according to the state House of Representatives.

Next to the Hortmans was their dog Gilbert, who was wounded in the attack and later had to be euthanized, officials said.

Vance Boelter was arrested a day after the murder and charged in their deaths along with the shootings of Hoffman and his wife earlier in the night.

The Hoffmans survived the shooting and are recuperating.

The suspect allegedly showed up to the legislators’ homes, impersonating a police officer and wearing a realistic-looking latex mask to carry out his “political assassinations,” prosecutors said.

Investigators recovered a list of about 45 elected officials in notebooks in his car, according to prosecutors.

Walz on Saturday noted growing political violence and tension in the country and said this moment was ” when each of us can examine the way we work together, the way we talk about each other, the way we fight for the things we care about.”

“But let’s not do it because of the way Mark and Melissa died. Let’s do it because of the way they lived, and the way they led,” he said.

ABC News’ Emily Shapiro contributed to this report.

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(ATLANTA) — Nearly 400 flights were canceled into and out of Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Saturday after severe weather and hail fell overnight.

Weather so far has forced 380 Delta flight cancellations at the airport, with additional delays and cancellations expected.

Around 100 Delta Airlines aircrafts were inspected overnight for possible damage from the hail that fell last night, with nearly all having returned to service Saturday, according to a spokesperson for Delta.

“Delta people are working as safely and quickly as possible to recover flights impacted by thunderstorms, lightning, hail and winds at our Atlanta hub Friday night. We thank our customers for their continued patience and understanding,” the airline spokesperson said.

“Intense thunderstorms, including one that brought reports of microburst winds and quarter-inch hail to our hub at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, drove more than 90 diversions to other airports in the U.S. Southeast and a pause in airport operations for safety reasons the evening of June 27,” the spokesperson added.

Severe weather conditions in the area led to ground stops and flights being diverted at the airport on Friday.

The air traffic control tower that manages aircraft around the Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta was briefly evacuated Friday evening due to “strong winds,” according to the FAA. The tower was not unstaffed during this time as few controllers stayed back to handle the air traffic in the area, the agency said.

In ATC recordings, controllers can be heard telling pilots that they evacuated due to weather and there are three personnel in the tower — controller, supervisor and traffic management.

Delta said it is performing inspections on its aircraft for any potential hail damage.

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(DELAWARE) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom is suing Fox News for $787 million for defamation.

Newsom’s allegations stem from Fox News host Jesse Watters’ coverage of the battle between the governor and President Donald Trump when the Trump administration sent the California National Guard to Los Angeles earlier this month.

Watters allegedly reported on Fox News that Newsom lied about a phone call with Trump, and the governor claims in his lawsuit that Watters’ show misleadingly edited a video of Trump to support the claim.

Trump, asked by a reporter on June 10 when was the last time he had spoken to Newsom, replied, “A day ago. Called him to tell him, got to do a better job, he’s doing a bad job” — even though, according to Newsom, the last time they had spoken was three days prior to that, at 1:28 a.m. ET on June 7, and Newsom said they had not discussed the riots in question.

After Newsom asserted on X that the two had not spoken on June 9 as Trump appeared to have said, Watters, according to the lawsuit, accused Newsom of lying and played the video clip of Trump telling the reporter the two had spoken — but edited out the start of the clip where Trump said “a day ago.”

“If Fox News wants to lie to the American people on Donald Trump’s behalf, it should face consequences — just like it did in the Dominion case,” Newsom said in a statement Friday, referring to the 2023 settlement Fox reached with Dominion Voting Systems — also for $787 million — after the voting machine company accused Fox News of knowingly pushing false conspiracy theories that Dominion rigged the 2020 presidential election in Joe Biden’s favor.

“I believe the American people should be able to trust the information they receive from a major news outlet,” Newsom said in his statement. “Until Fox is willing to be truthful, I will keep fighting against their propaganda machine.”

In a letter sent to Fox, Newsom’s attorneys said that unless Fox News issues a retraction and an on-air apology, “we will proceed with the lawsuit so that a jury can determine Fox News’s culpability and assign a monetary value to its ‘blatantly unethical’ conduct.”

Fox News, in a statement, said, “Gov. Newsom’s transparent publicity stunt is frivolous and designed to chill free speech critical of him. We will defend this case vigorously and look forward to it being dismissed.”

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(BOULDER, Colo.) — The man accused of throwing Molotov cocktails at a group of Colorado marchers advocating for the release of hostages being held in Gaza pleaded not guilty to federal hate crime charges on Friday.

Mohamed Soliman, 45, appeared in federal court in Denver for his arraignment after being indicted this week on a dozen federal charges in connection with the June 1 attack. He had previously been charged by complaint with a federal hate crime offense.

Prosecutors say Soliman ignited and threw two Molotov cocktails at the Run for Their Lives group during their Boulder walk, at one point shouting, “Free Palestine!”

During an interview with law enforcement, Soliman said he learned of the Run for Their Lives walk after searching for “Zionist” events online, according to the 12-count indictment.

A handwritten document recovered from his vehicle stated, “Zionism is our enemies untill [sic] Jerusalem is liberated and they are expelled from our land” and described Israel as a “cancer entity,” according to the indictment.

He remains in federal custody.

Soliman also faces 118 state charges in connection with the attack, which left over a dozen people, including a Holocaust survivor, injured. The slew of charges includes 28 counts of attempted murder, along with assault and explosives charges.

He is next scheduled to appear in court in the state case on July 15.

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(MINNESOTA) — Minnesotans are lining up at the state capitol on Friday to honor a slain lawmaker and her husband as their accused killer made a brief appearance in court.

Democratic Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, who were shot dead in their home on June 14, are lying in state at the Minnesota State Capitol.

Melissa Hortman is the first woman to lie in state, according to the Minnesota House of Representatives.

Next to the Hortmans was their golden retriever, Gilbert, who was wounded in the attack and later had to be euthanized, officials said.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and first lady Gwen Walz are among those paying their respects.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris will attend the couple’s private funeral on Saturday, according to a source familiar with Harris’ plans.

Harris spoke to the Hortmans’ two children, Sophie and Colin, in the last week “to express her deep condolences and offer her support,” the source said.

Meanwhile, the Hortmans’ alleged killer, Vance Boelter, who faces federal charges including stalking and state charges including first-degree murder, briefly appeared in federal court on Friday.

Boelter alleged the conditions in jail have kept him from sleeping for 12 to 14 days, according to Minneapolis ABC affiliate KSTP. Boelter claimed the doors are slammed incessantly, the lights are always and that he sleeps on a mat without a pillow, KSTP reported. He also allegedly said an inmate next to him spreads feces, KSTP reported.

The judge agreed to push back Boelter’s hearing to July 3, according to KSTP. Boelter has not entered a plea.

Boelter is accused of shooting and killing the Hortmans at their home in Brooklyn Park and shooting and wounding Democratic state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, at their house in nearby Champlin in the early hours of June 14, authorities said.

Boelter, 57, allegedly showed up to their doors, impersonating a police officer and wearing a realistic-looking latex mask to carry out his “political assassinations,” prosecutors said.

Investigators recovered a list of about 45 elected officials in notebooks in his car, according to prosecutors. Two other lawmakers were spared the night of the shootings, officials said.

ABC News’ Ahmad Hemingway and Brittany Shepherd contributed to this report.

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