Guilty Pleas Across Multiple Districts
Georgia Defendants Faked Drug Tests, Hosted Equipment
In the Southern District of Georgia, Audricus Phagnasay, 24; Jason Salazar, 30; and Alexander Paul Travis, 34, pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Between 2019 and 2022, the trio supplied their American identities to overseas IT workers, hosted corporate laptops, and installed unauthorized remote-access tools.
Travis—then an active-duty U.S. Army member—and Salazar even appeared for drug tests on behalf of the North Korean workers. Travis earned over $51,000, while Phagnasay and Salazar made $3,450 and $4,500, respectively.
Florida Defendant Ran Fake IT Staffing Firm
In Florida, Erick Ntekereze Prince, 30, also pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy. Through his company Taggcar Inc., Prince claimed to supply “certified” IT professionals to U.S. clients, but prosecutors say he instead funneled work to foreign North Korean IT operatives using stolen identities. Prince earned nearly $89,000 from the scheme.
