Which Detroit Automaker Accidentally Hired A North Korean Spy?

None of the writers of this site are secretly North Korean spies so far as I know, though if I were going to have to point the finger at one person it would definitely be The Bishop. He’s just too nice and helpful.

Are you up for a bit of misdirection in this morning’s Morning Dump? There’s a report out claiming that Fisker paid a decent amount of money to a North Korean spy masquerading as an IT employee, but buried in a release from the Justice Department is the news that one of Detroit’s big automakers also hired someone from this spy ring.

Speaking of mysteries, workers in Germany are wondering where Volkswagen’s big “let’s save ourselves” plan is. An investor in Jenson Button’s car company is curious about where the money went (though he has some guesses).

Finally, competitors in American sports car racing were often left mystified by the designs from engineer Bob Riley, the racing pioneer who passed away this week.

Fisker’s Spy Also Got Work In Detroit

Danish news site The Engineer has a big story about how Fisker unwittingly hired a remote IT employee who turned out to be a North Korean spy. The Democratic Republic of North Korea used a laptop farm in America to help its teams of fake IT workers get gigs at American companies.

These employees weren’t trying to do a good job helping with IT tasks but, rather, trying to get as much info out of the company as they could so they could create a ransomware attack that would generate more income for the heavily sanctioned country. There’s a whole episode of the Wall Street Journal‘s daily podcast about this titled “Your New Hire May Be a North Korean Spy” if you’re curious how this scheme worked.

A Justice Department indictment against an American who helped facilitate this conspiracy describes the scope:

The conspiracy perpetrated a staggering fraud on a multitude of industries, at the expense of generally unknowing U.S. companies and persons. It impacted more than 300 U.S. companies, compromised more than 60 identities of U.S. persons, caused false information to be conveyed to DHS on more than 100 occasions, created false tax liabilities for more than 35 U.S. persons, and resulted in at least $6.8 million of revenue to be generated for the overseas IT workers.

The overseas IT workers worked at blue-chip U.S. companies, including a top-5 national television network and media company, a premier Silicon Valley technology company, an aerospace and defense manufacturer, an iconic American car manufacturer, a high-end retail chain, and one of the most recognizable media and entertainment companies in the world, all of which were Fortune 500 companies. The overseas IT workers also exfiltrated data from at least two U.S. companies— a multinational restaurant chain and a classic American clothing brand. The overseas IT workers also attempted to gain employment and access to information at two different U.S. government agencies on three different occasions, although these attempts were discovered and thwarted, due to the agencies’ enhanced due diligence/

Fisker CEO Henrik Fisker didn’t comment to The Engineer other than saying the case was with the FBI. I’m interested in the bolded section above.

There are three traditional and iconic American automakers and, maybe, Tesla. Let’s go a little deeper into the document from the Justice Department to see if we can get another clue:

On or about February 6, 2023, “Frank C.,” still being employed by Staffing Company 5, was contracted to Company 6, a Fortune 500 iconic American automotive manufacturer located in Detroit, Michigan.

That removes Tesla, which is based in Austin, and probably also removes Stellantis, as Stellantis isn’t a US-based company and therefore isn’t on the Fortune 500 list (It is on the Fortune 2000 Global list).

It’s not clear, exactly, how long “Frank C.” worked at this automaker, which probably has to be either Ford or GM, but the North Korean intermediary did get a laptop from that automaker. I’ve reached out to Stellantis, Ford, and GM for comment, though I’m not expecting a response.

Nowhere in the report does it list any ransomware attempts against the automaker from Frank C, who used a stolen identity and Texas license, but the indictment does say he earned $214,596.00 from “Company 6” and a few others.

According to this document, Frank C got the job via an unnamed staffing company and wasn’t hired directly by the automaker.

VW Still Hasn’t Explained How It’ll Unscrew Itself

Volkswagen is in terrible shape right now and I’m not sure how the company is going to change course to avoid a slowly approaching disaster. Clearly, Scout Motors is a step in the right direction, albeit one that will do little to help workers in the company’s many German factories worried about their jobs.

A handout from Daniela Cavallo, head of VW’s works council (union), was seen by Reuters and the details aren’t encouraging:

“The Board of Management has still not presented a coherent overall concept for how it intends to strategically lead Volkswagen into the future with the right products, processes and plans,” Cavallo said in the handout seen by Reuters.

“Instead, it continues to focus solely on issues such as labour and factory costs.”

The statement reflects growing fears among workers over potential staff cuts, something Volkswagen declines to rule out as it struggles to find ways to adjust its set-up in Europe to lower demand and a shrinking market.

VW reports its Q3 financials next week so we’ll see how bad off they actually are.

Radford Files For Bankruptcy

I was surprised to find out that The Autopian has not covered Radford yet. This is a small company, co-founded by TV personality Ant Anstead and former F1 Champion Jensen Button. The first car from the brand is a Lotus Evora-based car inspired by the Lotus Type 62. I’ve seen a at least two of these cars in person and they look fantastic.

Making cars is hard and the young company now finds itself in bankruptcy. From Road & Track:

In a statement, group CFO Dan Bednarski says that “Radford Motors is going through a Chapter 11 Business restructure that will be implementing strategic changes to strengthen our foundation for the future. During this process, it’s expected that certain ownership transitions will occur, which is an important step in our evolution.”

“These changes are part of our broader strategy to clear the way for new investment and underscore our commitment to continued and sustained growth … We are excited about the road ahead and remain focused on continuing business as usual with renewed energy and purpose.”

It happens! Things are getting a bit messier and tabloidy because Anstead is also Renée Zellweger’s boyfriend and was formerly married to an HGTV star and so let’s go to People:

The company’s bankruptcy filing comes after one of his business partners, Pastor (Pat) Velasco, filed a lawsuit against the TV star and one of his co-founders, Daniel Bednarski, on March 8 in Orange County Superior Court, claiming he’s owed $2 million.

Several months later, on July 24, another complaint was filed by co-owner, Roger N. Behle Jr., alleging Anstead and Bednarski mismanaged the company’s finances.

The July complaint alleges that back in January, Anstead and Bednarski — who the filing claims was Anstead’s life coach prior to becoming Radford’s chief financial officer — secured a new sale of $100,000. However, hours after the money was wired, Anstead and Bednarski “took $54,635.52 from this deposit and used it to pay a vendor for work unrelated to the new client’s vehicle,” the complaint reads.

Little pro-tip: Don’t make your life coach your CFO. It never works out. I should probably disclose that I briefly helped out with the short-lived Radford TV show. Nothing much came of it, though I do remember Ant being enthusiastic and charming. I also remember every time we met he re-introduced himself as if he’d never met me, which was kinda funny.

Bob Riley: 1931 – 2024

There is likely no American racing engineer who has had more of an impact as Bob Riley. From the MK IV Ford GT to the many Riley & Scott sports car chassis, his designs were legendary. According to his family, Bob passed away this week at 93.

“All of us at IMSA are deeply saddened to learn of the sudden passing of Bob Riley,” said IMSA President John Doonan. “Bob was a legendary figure in sports car racing, and we were proud to have him with us as we inducted him into the IMSA Hall of Fame less than two weeks ago. Bob was one of the most important and influential race car engineers and designers in the United States, as evidenced by the many championships and race victories earned by Riley chassis – including seven Rolex 24 At Daytona wins. Our thoughts and prayers are with Bob’s son, Bill, and the entire Riley family, as well as Bob’s many friends and colleagues. Bob was truly one of a kind and will be sorely missed.”

I had the chance to meet Bob Riley at his shop, Riley Technologies, in North Carolina a couple of years ago and he seemed just as sharp as ever.

“I knew Bob Riley. He was not just a creative, practical engineer/designer but a humble, energetic gentleman. I was fortunate to work with him in 1983-84 on the Ford Mustang project,” said Bobby Rahal in a statement.

RIP to a real one.

What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD

Let’s have a chill weekend, starting with “The Less I Know The Better” from Tame Impala.

The Big Question

What’s your favorite American race car of all time?

Top photo: Mad Magazine/Ford/Deposit Photos