Arizona Woman Jailed for Helping North Korea in $17M IT Job Scam

Christina Marie Chapman, a 50-year-old Arizona woman, was sentenced to 8.5 years in prison for orchestrating a sophisticated fraud scheme that helped North Korean IT workers secure remote positions at 309 US companies, including Fortune 500 corporations, generating over $17 million for North Korea. Chapman operated a “laptop farm” from her home, hosting company computers to make it appear work was being performed domestically while actually shipping 49 laptops and devices overseas, including to locations near the North Korean border in China. She used 68 stolen American identities to forge payroll checks and facilitate the scheme, which targeted major companies across television, technology, aerospace, automotive, retail, and entertainment sectors. The case represents one of the largest North Korean IT worker fraud schemes prosecuted by the US Department of Justice, with authorities emphasizing that the proceeds supported North Korea’s nuclear weapons program and posed significant national security risks.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​