PWC Defense Contractor Abused Top Secret Clearance In Foreign IT Jobs Scheme: DOJ

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, VA – A Prince William County man has pleaded guilty to his role in a fake-employment scheme that ultimately might have benefited North Korea, according to the U.S. government.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, John Allen Kurrle, 62, of Gainesville, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud on Wednesday.

Prosecutors say Kurrle, a U.S. government defense contractor who held a top-secret clearance, let foreign nationals use his identity and credentials to apply for remote work positions. He also used a third person’s identity to apply for remote positions.

According to court documents, Kurrle himself would take part in the interview process, including conducting phone interviews with companies, among them a military contractor. Often, a high-level clearance was a requirement for the positions he sought.

Kurrle would then receive laptops shipped by the deceived companies at his Gainesville home and would enable them to be remotely accessed from outside the United States.

In two instances, companies noticed during video interviews that the person appearing on their screen was markedly different from the person described on resumes or heard on the phone. In one of those instances, the fraudster was fired after a short period of employment; in another, the fraudster was fired before beginning work.

In total, Kurrle was involved in 88 fraudulent work applications, which resulted in at least nine job offers with salaries from $120,000 to 190,000 per year. Prosecutors said the scheme ran from at least June 2025 to October 2025.

The wages from this work would ultimately end up outside the U.S., with Kurrle paid a fee for his assistance in the scheme. Prosecutors didn't say how much Kurrle might have earned for his role.

According to the U.S. government, the North Korean government encourages its IT workers to seek fraudulent employment in this way.

The U.S. government says Kurrle was not aware of any connection to North Korea.

Kurrle will be sentenced in January. He faces up to 20 years in prison, the U.S. government says.