An Arizona woman has been sentenced to nearly ten years in prison for her role in a fraudulent foreign worker scheme that supported the North Korean government.

Christina Marie Chapman, aged 50, received a 102-month federal prison sentence for her involvement in a complex plan that assisted North Korean residents in impersonating U.S. citizens to secure remote IT positions at 309 American businesses, as reported by the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The identities of 68 Americans were stolen in the process. 

Chapman’s scam generated more than $17 million for herself and the government of North Korea and was perpetuated from 2020 to 2023. 

A shelf of laptops in Christina Chapman’s home. (Department of Justice)

“North Korea poses a threat not only from afar but also from within. It is engaging in fraud against American citizens, companies, and banks, posing a significant threat to Main Street in every conceivable way,” stated U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.

“The North Korean regime has generated millions of dollars for its nuclear weapons program by victimizing American citizens, businesses and financial institutions,” added FBI Assistant Director of Counterintelligence Roman Rozhavsky. 

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks at the Supreme People’s Assembly in Pyongyang, North Korea, Jan. 15, 2024. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

“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.”