13 IT jobs, Rs 8 cr salary, no formal degree: US man guilty of fraud

Minh Phuong Ngoc Vong, a 40-year-old man from Maryland, US, was recently found guilty of conspiring to commit wire fraud after holding 13 IT jobs despite having no formal education, experience, or training in the sector. The man faces up to 20 years in jail for his crimes

Previously, Vong was a worker at a nail salon before he was approached by a foreign national from China under the alias “William James” who offered to help him make money through remote jobs, according to a press release by the US Department of Justice.

A fabricated resume claimed that he had a degree from the University of Hawaii, 16 years of experience as a software developer, and had held a secret-level security clearance allowed Vong to secure multiple jobs in the IT sector. The 13 jobs he acquired through his fraudulent resume earned him a whopping sum of $9,70,000 (approximately ₹8.26 crore) over three years.

In his guilty plea, he explained that he completed his tasks by outsourcing his highly sensitive IT work to North Korean nationals, operating out of China.

One of the jobs fraudulently held by him was on a Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) contract which involved monitoring aviation assets midair within the US.

After being hired, the organisation issued him a Macbook and a Personal ID verification card, allowing him to access sensitive government systems.

Vong installed remote access software on the FAA-issued laptop allowing North Korean operatives to gain access to sensitive data. These operatives also allegedly posed as Vong and attended Zoom meetings, discussing task lists and participating in daily team updates.