A 50-year-old woman from Arizona, Christina Marie Chapman, has been sentenced to 102 months in prison for her role in a scheme that helped North Korean IT workers get jobs at more than 300 U.S. companies.
Chapman admitted to running a “laptop farm” in her home between October 2020 and October 2023. She hosted computers used by North Korean workers to make it look like they were located in the United States. These workers were then hired remotely by American companies, including major tech firms, a defense company, a TV network, and other high-profile businesses.
Together, they earned over $17 million in illegal payments, some of which Chapman helped process through her bank accounts. Authorities say she also shipped nearly 50 laptops overseas, including to a city in China near North Korea. During a search in October 2023, agents found more than 90 laptops in her home.
Chapman was first charged in May 2024, along with Oleksandr Didenko, a Ukrainian citizen who operated an online platform called UpWorkSell. This site helped North Koreans create fake identities to apply for remote IT jobs. The platform has since been shut down by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Three other foreign nationals, using the names Jiho Han, Haoran Xu, and Chunji Jin, were also charged with helping to move money for the scheme.
The U.S. Treasury Department has also sanctioned a North Korean front company and three individuals linked to similar IT worker scams. Officials say these scams are used to earn money for North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.
If this article helped you, please consider supporting our work. Every small contribution keeps Abijita.com independent and running.
