The Brief Federal agents raided roughly 40 Texas laptop farms helping North Korean operatives secretly secure U.S. IT jobs. The operatives funneled up to 90% of their high-paying salaries directly to North Korea's nuclear and missile programs. No arrests have been announced yet, but authorities expect to issue federal indictments against U.S. facilitators soon. An investigation uncovered a network of U.S.-based laptop farms that helped North Koreans secretly infiltrate American businesses, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas said Tuesday. The scheme aimed to fund the regime's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. What we know: During Operation Lone Star Roundup, federal agents seized more than 185 laptops and devices from around 40 locations across Texas, U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould said. Agents found more than 100 of those devices right here in North Texas. North Korean IT Scheme 04 January 2019, Berlin: ILLUSTRATION - A man sits in front of his laptop and looks at the program code. (on the subject of data theft among German politicians and celebrities from 05.01.2019) Photo: Paul Zinken/dpa (Photo by Paul Zinken/picture alli Expand The backstory: North Korean IT workers use fake identities to get remote contracts with U.S. companies. Because these workers actually live in North Korea, they rely on U.S. facilitators to receive company-issued laptops and host them in their homes. The U.S. facilitators install remote access software, allowing operatives in North Korea to log in and appear as though they are working from within the United States. The workers then funnel an estimated 85% to 90% of their earnings directly to the North Korean government. Raybould said the U.S. Treasury estimated that more than $800 million was sent to North Korea in fiscal year 2024. Officials said North Texas sees a high concentration of this activity due to the region's massive employment market. What we don't know: Authorities have not announced any arrests. Officials did not specify where the laptop farms were located, other than saying #fox4news #crimewatchdallas