Two women in Arizona are heading to prison for almost ten years after being involved in a fraudulent scheme aimed at providing fake foreign workers that ultimately benefited the North Korean government.
According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), 50-year-old Christina Marie Chapman has been sentenced to 102 months in federal prison due to her role in an intricate operation that enabled North Korean residents to pretend to be U.S. citizens and secure remote IT jobs with 309 American companies.
Throughout this operation, the identities of 68 Americans were illegally used.
Chapman’s fraud reportedly generated over $17 million for herself and the North Korean regime, continuing from 2020 until 2023.
To support her activities, Chapman facilitated the use of laptops at her home from various companies she had scammed, including Fortune 500 firms, prominent television networks, and tech giants from Silicon Valley.
These companies were misled into believing they were hiring legitimate American workers.
In reality, the individuals behind the screens were North Koreans, who are prohibited from working in the U.S.
The DOJ noted that Chapman shipped 49 devices to Chinese cities that border North Korea.
During the execution of a search warrant in 2023, law enforcement found over 90 laptops in her home.
She had pleaded guilty in February to conspiracy charges related to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Aside from her prison term, she will have to forfeit $284,556, which will be sent to North Korea, and pay a fine of $176,850.
“North Korea doesn’t just pose a distant threat; it’s an internal enemy, essentially defrauding American citizens and businesses. It’s a risk to communities everywhere,” noted a representative from the FBI.
“The North Korean leadership has profited millions for its nuclear ambitions by exploiting American resources,” added Roman Rozhabski, the FBI assistant director for anti-intelligence. “But even a government as complex as North Korea can’t operate without help from individuals like Christina Chapman, who facilitated this scam and helped North Korean IT workers obtain virtual positions while laundering their earnings.”
