A woman from Arizona, Christina Marie Chapman, has been sentenced to over eight years in prison for her pivotal involvement in a fraudulent scheme that funneled upwards of $17 million to North Korea. According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ), the 50-year-old resident of Litchfield Park was instrumental in assisting North Korean IT workers in impersonating U.S. citizens to gain remote positions with 309 American companies, including several Fortune 500 firms.
This case stands as one of the largest North Korean IT fraud operations prosecuted by the DoJ, culminating in a 102-month prison sentence for Chapman. Alongside her imprisonment, she will serve three years of supervised release for her guilty pleas on February 11, 2023, in the District of Columbia. The charges against her included conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy to launder funds.
Chapman’s operation was characterized by managing a “laptop farm” at her residence, where she received and then hosted computers belonging to various companies. This fraudulent setup misled the firms into believing that their work was being conducted within U.S. borders. Specifically, she shipped 49 laptops and additional devices supplied by American businesses to overseas locations, including numerous shipments to a city in China that borders North Korea.
U.S. officials have strongly condemned Chapman’s actions, emphasizing that her activities financially bolstered North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, thereby threatening national security. Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti pointed out the severe ramifications for those who assist foreign adversaries.
The FBI and State Department have recently issued updated advisories for human resources professionals and business owners, highlighting the necessity for vigilance against such threats. They provide pointers on recognizing the tactics employed by these fraudulent IT workers to gain access and generate revenue. To mitigate risks associated with similar schemes, authorities recommend that organizations closely scrutinize identity documents, thoroughly verify employment histories, and enforce stringent protocols for virtual meetings, including demands for unobstructed video backgrounds and checks for AI-generated video anomalies.
