Viral: Nail salon worker, with no college degree, caught working for 13 remote IT jobs, earned over Rs…

A 40-year-old nail salon worker in the United States, Minh Phuong Ngoc Vong, is facing serious charges after being accused of running a major fraud involving remote IT jobs. According to the US Department of Justice, Vong worked with people based in China and North Korea to illegally get 13 remote software development jobs with different American companies between 2021 and 2024.

What’s shocking is that Vong didn’t do the work himself. Instead, the jobs were secretly handled by suspected North Korean operatives who were working out of China. In return, Vong received more than USD 970,000 (which is about Rs 8 crore in Indian currency) in salaries. Some of the jobs even involved sensitive work for US government agencies like the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which made the case even more serious.

Authorities believe this is part of a large scam in which trained North Korean workers, using fake identities and resumes, are helped by people in the US to get jobs in the tech sector. These workers then secretly access company systems from places like China and Russia and send the money they earn to North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un.

In Vong’s case, it is said he met a man named “William James” through a video game app. “William,” suspected to be a North Korean, told Vong that he could earn money legally if he helped get jobs and allowed remote access to his computer. Vong also admitted that fake resumes were made for him, claiming he had 16 years of experience and a degree from the University of Hawaii — both of which were false.

The fraud was discovered when one company noticed something strange: Vong’s face in an online interview didn’t match the one shown when he was asked to show his ID later.

Now, Vong could face more than 20 years in prison if proven guilty.