An Arizona woman was sentenced today to 102 months in prison for her role in a fraudulent scheme that assisted North Korean Information Technology (IT) workers posing as U.S. citizens and residents with obtaining remote IT positions at more than 300 U.S. companies. The scheme generated more than $17 million in illicit revenue for Chapman and for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea).Christina Marie Chapman, 50, of Litchfield Park, Arizona, pleaded guilty on Feb. 11 in the District of Columbia to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. In addition to the 102-month prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Randolph D. Moss ordered Chapman to serve three years of supervised release, to forfeit $284,555.92 that was to be paid to the North Koreans, and to pay a judgment of $176,850.“Christina Chapman perpetrated a years’ long scheme that resulted in millions of dollars raised for the DPRK regime, exploited more than 300 American companies and government agencies, and stole dozens of identities of American citizens,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Chapman made the wrong calculation: short term personal gains that inflict harm on our citizens and support a foreign adversary will have severe long term consequences. I encourage companies to remain vigilant of these cyber threats, and warn individuals who may be tempted by similar schemes to take heed of today’s sentence.”“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 U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro for the District of Columbia. “The call is coming from inside the house. 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.”“The North Korean regime has generated millions of dollars for its nuclear weapons program by victimizing American citizens, businesses, and financial institutions,” said Assistant Director Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. “However, even an adversary as sophisticated as the North Korean government can't succeed without the assistance of willing U.S. citizens like Christina Chapman, who was sentenced today for her role in an elaborate scheme to defraud more than 300 American companies by helping North Korean IT workers gain virtual employment and launder the money they earned. Today's sentencing demonstrates that the FBI will work tirelessly with our partners to defend the homeland and hold those accountable who aid our adversaries.”“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.“Today’s sentencing brings justice to the victims whose identities were stolen for this international fraud scheme,” said Special Agent in Charge Carissa Messick of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Phoenix Field Office. “The scheme was elaborate. If this sentencing proves anything, it’s that no amount of obfuscation will prevent IRS-CI and our law enforcement partners from tracking down those that wish to steal the identities of U.S. nationals, launder money, or engage in criminality that jeopardizes national security.”The case involved one of the largest North Korean IT worker fraud schemes charged by the Department of Justice, with 68 identities stolen from victims in the United States and 309 U.S. businesses and two international businesses defrauded.According to court documents, North Korea has deployed thousands of highly skilled IT workers around the world, including to the United States, to obtain remote employment using false, stolen, or borrowed identities of U.S. persons. To circumvent controls employed by U.S. companies to prevent the hiring of illicit overseas IT workers, the North Korean IT workers obtain assistance from U.S.-based collaborators.Chapman helped North Korean IT workers obtain jobs at 309 U.S. companies, including Fortune 500 corporations. The impacted companies included a top-five major television network, a Silicon Valley technology company, an aerospace manufacturer, an American car maker, a luxury retail store, and a U.S media and entertainment company. Some of the companies were targeted by the IT workers, who maintained a repository of postings for companies that they wanted to employ them. The IT workers also attempted to obtain employment at two different U.S. government agencies, although these efforts were generally unsuccessful.Chapman operated a “laptop farm” where she received and hosted computers from the U.S. companies at her home, deceiving the companies into believing that the work was being performed in the United States. Chapman also shipped 49 laptops and other devices supplied by U.S. companies to locations overseas, including multiple shipments to a city in China on the border with North Korea. More than 90 laptops were seized from Chapman’s home following the execution of a search warrant in October 2023., An Arizona woman is headed to prison for nearly a decade after perpetuating a fraudulent foreign worker scam that benefited the North Korean government., The scheme generated more than $17 million in illicit revenue for Chapman and for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea). Christina Marie Chapman, 50, of Litchfield Park, Arizona, pleaded guilty on Feb. 11 in the District of Columbia to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy to .