WASHINGTON, D.C.
Christina Marie Chapman, 50, of Litchfield Park, Arizona, was sentenced to eight years and six months in prison for her role in one of the largest North Korean IT fraud schemes ever charged by the Department of Justice, officials announced Thursday.
The scheme utilized 68 stolen U.S. identities to help North Korean IT workers fraudulently secure remote jobs at 309 U.S. companies, including Fortune 500 firms, and two international businesses, generating over $17 million in illicit income.
Chapman acted as a U.S.-based facilitator, helping North Korean operatives bypass security checks by hosting a “laptop farm” in her home, where she ran company-issued devices to make it appear work was being done from inside the U.S. She also shipped at least 49 laptops to locations abroad, including China near the North Korea border.
Authorities seized over 90 devices from her home during an October 2023 search.
The impacted companies included a top U.S. television network, a Silicon Valley tech firm, an aerospace manufacturer, a luxury retailer, and an automaker. Some North Korean IT workers even attempted to infiltrate U.S. government agencies.
Chapman forged payroll checks, funneled wages from fake identities through her U.S. accounts, and transferred proceeds overseas. She also falsely reported the income to the IRS and Social Security Administration under stolen names.
In addition to prison time, Chapman must forfeit $284,555.92, pay $176,850 in restitution, and serve three years of supervised release.
The case was investigated by the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation in Phoenix, with help from the FBI’s Chicago Field Office.