US Woman Jailed for 8 Years Over Identity Theft Scheme Aiding North Korean Workers
A 50-year-old Arizona woman has been sentenced to more than eight years in prison for orchestrating an identity theft operation that enabled North Korean nationals to secure jobs with hundreds of US companies, generating millions of dollars for Pyongyang’s weapons programme.
Christina Chapman admitted to stealing the identities of 68 Americans and using them to help foreign workers pose as US citizens. Authorities said the scheme infiltrated over 300 firms, including Fortune 500 companies such as Nike, and raised approximately $17 million that was funneled back to North Korea.
Chapman pleaded guilty in February to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering conspiracy. On Thursday, a federal judge handed down a 102-month prison sentence and ordered her to forfeit $176,850 she personally received from the operation, along with $284,000 in withheld wages intended for the North Korean operatives.
Prosecutors said Chapman ran “laptop farms” from her homes in Arizona and Minnesota, logging into company-issued computers so that the foreign workers could appear to be physically located in the US. Officials revealed she even hired two assistants to manage the high volume of devices, which she shipped to countries including China, Pakistan, the UAE and Nigeria.
The US State Department linked Chapman’s three North Korean co-defendants to the country’s Munitions Industry Department, which oversees ballistic missile and weapons production. Prosecutors argued that the scheme was designed to secretly fund North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme.
“North Korea is not just a distant threat. It is an enemy within, defrauding American citizens, companies, and banks,” US Attorney for Washington DC General Jeanine Pirro said after the sentencing. “These funds were used to buy munitions that could be used against us.”
Despite her guilty plea, Chapman maintained she was unaware she was assisting North Koreans. Investigators, however, found she sent 35 packages to Dandong, a Chinese city bordering North Korea, over an eight-month period. Prosecutors argued that her actions demonstrated clear knowledge of her clients’ identities.
The FBI, which assisted in the investigation, warned that North Korea continues to exploit remote work opportunities to infiltrate US companies and divert funds to its weapons programmes.
“Even an adversary as sophisticated as the North Korean government can’t succeed without the help of willing US citizens like Christina Chapman,” the FBI said in a statement.
