Christina Marie Chapman, a 50-year-old from Arizona, was sentenced to 8.5 years in prison for aiding North Korean IT workers in a $17 million fraud scheme. Operating a “laptop farm” from her Litchfield Park home, she deceived over 300 U.S. companies, including Fortune 500 firms, using stolen identities of 68 Americans from 2020 to 2023 to help North Koreans secure remote IT jobs.
Jailed Over Fraudulent IT Scheme Ties
Chapman hosted over 90 laptops at home to create the illusion that North Korean workers were based in the U.S. She used stolen names for easy remote access and generated $17.1 million by faking payroll checks and laundering wages.
She also shipped 49 laptops to a city in China close to North Korea, further supporting the fraud. This operation affected 309 U.S. businesses and highlighted serious weaknesses in remote hiring practices.
In February 2025, she pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering. Prosecutors said the scheme funneled millions to the country’s nuclear weapons program. Chapman was ordered to forfeit $284,555 and pay $176,850 in restitution.
“The sentencing today demonstrates the great lengths to which the North Korean government will go in its efforts and resources to fund its illicit activities. The FBI continues to pursue these threat actors to disrupt their network and hold those accountable wherever they may be,” said Special Agent in Charge Heith Janke of the FBI Phoenix Field Office.
North Korea’s Crypto-Crime Network Expands
North Korean hackers are now using advanced methods to infiltrate global companies, especially in tech and cryptocurrency. They use VPNs, proxy servers, and even European actors to conduct job interviews and hide their identities. Recent reports show a trend of extorting businesses with stolen data, with hackers stealing $1.34 billion in cryptocurrency in 2024 alone.
The FBI has noted that U.S.-based facilitators like Chapman help bypass sanctions and fund illegal programs. This case shows the difficulty of spotting covert operations in remote work environments.
