Source: www.securityweek.com – Author: Ionut Arghire
An Arizona woman was sentenced to prison for her role in a North Korean fake IT worker scheme that hit more than 300 companies and generated over $17 million in illicit revenue.
The woman, Christina Marie Chapman, 50, of Litchfield Park, was charged in May last year with running a laptop farm to help North Koreans hide their location. She pleaded guilty in February 2025.
According to court documents, between October 2020 and October 2023, she helped North Korean IT workers obtain employment at US companies using the stolen identities of Americans, and received and hosted laptops from the targeted companies at her home.
In October 2023, authorities executed a search warrant at her home and seized roughly 90 laptops. Court documents allege that she shipped 49 computers supplied by US companies overseas, including to a city in China on the border with North Korea.
In total, Chapman and her co-conspirators defrauded 309 US companies, including an aerospace manufacturer, a car maker, a major television network, a technology firm, a media and entertainment company, and a luxury retail store.
The scheme netted over $17.1 million in illicit income for the IT work. Much of it was falsely reported in the name of actual US individuals, but Chapman also received and forged payroll checks, and received IT workers’ wages in her accounts.
Chapman was sentenced to 102 months in prison, and three years of supervised release, and was ordered to forfeit $284,555 and to pay a judgement of $176,850.
North Korea is believed to have deployed roughly 3,000 skilled IT workers abroad, with another 1,000 operating from within the country. They are estimated to generate between $250 million and $600 million in illicit revenue annually.
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After disrupting 29 laptop farms that facilitated fake IT worker activities, the US on Thursday announced rewards totaling up to $15 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of North Korean nationals involved in these and other fraud schemes.
The US Departments of State, Justice, and the Treasury are offering up to $7 million for information on Sim Hyon-Sop, rewards of up to $3 million each for Myong Chol-Min and Kim Se-Un, and up to $500,000 each for information on Kim Yong-Bok, Kim Chol-Min, Ri Tong-Min, and Ri Won-Ho.
According to the US, the seven individuals have been involved in various revenue generation schemes, including cryptocurrency theft, IT work, the trafficking of counterfeit goods, and smuggling.
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Original Post URL: https://www.securityweek.com/us-targets-north-koreas-illicit-funds-15m-rewards-offered-as-american-woman-jailed-in-it-worker-scam/
Category & Tags: Tracking & Law Enforcement,fake IT workers,North Korea,reward,sentenced – Tracking & Law Enforcement,fake IT workers,North Korea,reward,sentenced
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