By Melissa O’Rourke
ARIZONA (CONVERSEER) – An Arizona woman has been sentenced to more than eight years in prison for running a scheme that helped North Korean IT workers impersonate U.S. citizens to secure remote jobs at American companies, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Thursday.
Christina Marie Chapman, who operated what prosecutors described as a “laptop farm,” was sentenced to 102 months in federal prison. Her scheme enabled North Korean workers to use stolen or fabricated American identities to obtain remote employment, generating over $17 million in revenue for Chapman and the North Korean regime, according to the DOJ.
Fraud Targeted U.S. Companies Nationwide
North Korean workers used Chapman’s operation to secure jobs with more than 300 U.S. companies, including a top-five television network, a Silicon Valley technology firm, an aerospace manufacturer, a car maker, a luxury retailer and a media and entertainment company.
Authorities said the North Koreans also attempted to infiltrate two U.S. government agencies but failed to obtain positions.
“North Korea is not just a threat to the homeland from afar. It is an enemy within,” said Jeanine Ferris Pirro, interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. “Corporations failing to verify virtual employees pose a security risk for all. You are the first line of defense against the North Korean threat.”
Massive Identity Theft and Global Network
Investigators seized more than 90 laptops from Chapman’s home in 2023 and discovered she had shipped 49 company-provided laptops overseas, including to a Chinese city near North Korea.
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The DOJ described the case as one of the largest North Korean IT worker fraud schemes ever uncovered, involving 68 stolen identities and 309 U.S. businesses, as well as two international firms.
“Chapman made the wrong calculation: short-term personal gains that inflict harm on our citizens and support a foreign adversary will have severe long-term consequences,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti.
Authorities warned companies to remain vigilant, citing growing cyber and identity-based threats from North Korean actors targeting corporate America.
