An Arizona woman has been sentenced to 8.5 years in federal prison for participating in a fraud scheme that helped give remote jobs to North Korean information technology specialists at over 300 companies in the United States, the Department of Justice announced Thursday.
The alleged scheme generated more than $17 million in revenue for the 50-year-old defendant, Christina Chapman, and North Korea, the department said in a statement. The remote North Korean workers posed as U.S. citizens and residents to enter various companies.
Before her sentencing, Chapman pleaded guilty in February to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. The case was prosecuted in Washington, D.C.
“North Korea is not just a threat to the homeland from afar. It is an enemy within. It is perpetrating fraud on American citizens, American companies, and American banks. It is a threat to Main Street in every sense of the word,” said interim U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro for the District of Columbia, who is being considered in the Senate for the permanent role.
As a result of the fraud scheme, 68 identities were stolen from victims in the U.S., and 309 American businesses and two international businesses were defrauded. The affected businesses included Fortune 500 corporations and other aerospace, technology, and entertainment companies. Two U.S. agencies were also targeted, but the DOJ said those attempts were “generally unsuccessful.”
“The call is coming from inside the house,” Pirro added. “If this happened to these big banks, to these Fortune 500, brand-name, quintessential American companies, it can or is happening at your company. Corporations failing to verify virtual employees pose a security risk for all. You are the first line of defense against the North Korean threat.”
Chapman’s actions involved shipping 49 laptops and other devices from her Arizona home to locations overseas. The devices were supplied by U.S. companies, making it look like the remote work was being performed in the U.S. rather than abroad.
Authorities discovered more than 90 laptops while searching her home with a warrant in October 2023.
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The case was one of the largest North Korean IT worker fraud schemes the DOJ charged.
In addition to over eight years in prison, Chapman will face three years of supervised release, forfeit a $284,555.92 payment originally meant for the North Koreans involved in the scheme, and pay a $176,850 judgment.
