US Woman Gets 8-Year Sentence for Identity Theft to Help North Koreans Find Employment
Christina Chapman, a US woman, has been sentenced to over eight years in prison for a scheme that involved stealing the identities of American workers and passing them to North Koreans. Chapman admitted to stealing the identities of 68 US citizens and helping foreign workers use those identities to gain employment at over 300 separate companies. The scheme used the stolen identities to generate $17m (£12.5m) in funds that were sent back to North Korea. Chapman claimed to be unaware of her involvement, but US Attorney for Washington DC General Jeanine Pirro warned companies to be alert for similar North Korean plots. In May 2024, Chapman and three other North Korean nationals were arrested in Arizona and charged. The North Korean Munitions Industry Department, which produces weapons and ballistic missiles for North Korea, is connected to all three North Koreans. The money raised was sent directly to the country’s nuclear weapons program. US Attorney Pirro emphasized that North Korea is not just a threat to the homeland from afar but an enemy within, perpetrating fraud on American citizens, American companies, and American banks. The plot orchestrated by Chapman duped 309 American companies, including several Fortune 500 list companies such as Nike, and two international firms. Chapman admitted to running “laptop farms” from her homes in Arizona and Minnesota, where she would log into computers issued by the companies so that it appeared the North Korean workers from other countries were physically in the US. She then helped the workers remotely connect to the laptops and receive their wages from the firms. Chapman was paid $176,850 for the conspiracy, which began in October 2020 and ended in 2023. As part of her sentence, she was ordered to hand over the money and over $284,000 in profits that were due to be paid to the North Koreans. The FBI aided the investigation, warning that North Korea has earned millions of dollars for its nuclear weapons program by victimizing American citizens, businesses, and financial institutions.
