Politics
AZ Woman Pleads Guilty In Fraud Scheme That Generated Millions For North Korea
An Arizona woman pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to defrauding U.S. companies in a scheme that generated roughly $17 million for herself and the authoritarian government of North Korea.
Christina Marie Chapman, 48, of Litchfield Park, Arizona pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, identity theft, and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, according to a press release from U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
Chapman was involved in a scheme that assisted foreign IT workers who posed as U.S. citizens in order to work remote jobs for more than 300 American companies. The scheme generated nearly $17 million in illicit revenue for herself and for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) government, according to the news release.
According to court documents, Chapman, an American citizen, conspired with overseas IT workers from October 2020 through October 2023 in order to steal identities of U.S. citizens to apply for IT jobs. She also transferred fraudulent documents to the Department of Homeland Security. Chapman and her co-conspirators ultimately obtained jobs hundreds of U.S. companies, including Fortune 500 corporations, often through using temporary staffing companies or staffing organizations.
Chapman created a “laptop farm” at her home in order to convince companies that the foreign IT workers were actually working in the United States. As a result of the scheme, foreign IT workers were able to gain access to internal systems of U.S. companies.
Christina Marie Chapman, 48
Photo: Christina Marie Chapman via Facebook
Workers who benefitted from the scheme received more than $17.1 million for their work. Much of the income was falsely reported to the IRS and Social Security Administration in the names of actual U.S. individuals whose identities had been stolen.
In total, the scheme affected more than 300 U.S. companies, while more than 70 American citizens had their identities compromised. On more than 100 occasions, false information was submitted to the DHS, while more than 70 U.S. citizens had false tax liabilities created in their names.
U.S. District Court Judge Randolph D. Moss scheduled sentencing for June 16, 2025. Under the terms of the plea agreement, prosecutors are recommending a sentence of anywhere between 94 and 111 months in federal prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors, the press release noted.
The case was investigated by the FBI Counterintelligence Division, the FBI Phoenix Field Office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona, and IRS Criminal Investigation Phoenix Field Office with assistance from the FBI Chicago Field Office.
