Arizona Woman Sentenced 102 Months for $17M North Korea IT Fraud Scheme

Christina Marie Chapman, a 50-year-old woman from Litchfield Park, Arizona, was sentenced to 102 months in federal prison for orchestrating a sophisticated scheme that helped North Korean IT workers pose as U.S. citizens to obtain remote jobs at 309 American companies, including Fortune 500 firms. Chapman operated a 'laptop farm' with over 90 laptops at her home, creating the illusion that the workers were based in the U.S., and shipped nearly 50 laptops overseas, including to a Chinese city near North Korea's border. The scheme involved the theft of 68 U.S. identities and generated more than $17 million in illicit revenue for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), with Chapman receiving wages deposited into her own U.S. bank accounts and forging payroll checks. Authorities described this as one of the largest North Korean IT worker fraud cases prosecuted by the Department of Justice, highlighting severe vulnerabilities in remote work verification systems. In addition to her prison sentence, Chapman was ordered to forfeit over $284,000 and pay additional penalties, with prosecutors emphasizing the national security threat posed by North Korea's infiltration of American companies through such fraudulent employment practices. This case underscores ongoing concerns about state-sponsored cyber and economic threats emanating from North Korea targeting U.S. businesses and citizens.