Fisker EVs Hired An IT Spy Who Funneled Millions To North Korea’s Missile Program, CEO Henrik Fisker, Says “The Case Is With the FBI”

It appears North Korea is targeting U.S. automakers. A report from Automotive News (by subscription) reveals that Fisker Inc., the Ocean SUV electric car manufacturer located in Manhattan Beach, California, hired an IT worker who was a spy for the North Korean government to steal money for its missile program. 

AN says, "A remote information technology employee hired by Fisker Inc. turned out to be a spy for the North Korean government."

The report from the Danish magazine The Engineer said Fisker was among numerous U.S. automobile companies targeted by a money laundering scheme that funneled more than a staggering $6 million to North Korea's ballistic missile program.

AN says, "The story, based on documents filed by the U.S. Department of Justice, says Fisker hired a remote IT worker named Kou Thao in October 2021. But Thao's purported address in Arizona belonged to a woman named Christina Chapman, who set up laptop computers that the North Koreans accessed through Russia and China."

Fisker terminated Thao in September 2023 after the Justice Department notified the electric vehicle maker that it was being scammed. The financial strain caused by the espionage activities could have led to Fisker filing for bankruptcy nine months later, in June 2024.

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