The U.S. Department of Justice has seized $15 million in USDT as part of its crackdown on North Korean cybercriminals involved in fraudulent IT job schemes and cryptocurrency theft. Five defendants have pleaded guilty to charges related to assisting North Korean operatives in securing remote IT jobs at U.S. companies using false identities. This scheme affected over 136 U.S. companies and generated $2.2 million for the North Korean regime. Additionally, the North Korean hacking group APT38 executed a multi-million dollar cryptocurrency theft from four overseas platforms in 2023. The U.S. government has frozen and seized over $15 million in cryptocurrency linked to these activities, aiming to return the funds to their rightful owners. These operations are part of North Korea's efforts to fund its weapons programs, violating international sanctions.