An Arizona woman alleged to run a laptop farm from her home to help North Korean IT workers pose as US-based remote workers has been sentenced to eight and a half years in prison. The scheme caused $17 million in damages across over 300 American companies.
50-year-old Christina Marie Chapman was arrested in May 2024 and later pleaded guilty in February 2025 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. She was part of one of the largest North Korean IT workers scams prosecuted by the Justice Department so far, stealing 68 US citizens’ identities and 309 US and two international companies falling victim to the fraud.
Chapman helped these IT workers land jobs in American companies, including Fortune 500 companies, a major TV network, a Silicon Valley tech company, an aerospace manufacturer, an American car maker, a luxury retail store, and a media and entertainment company. The fake workers also attempted to get jobs at two different US government agencies on three occasions.
Court documents state that Chapman ran a laptop farm from her Arizona residence between October 2020 and October 2023. She ended up hosting computers for overseas workers posing as US citizens or residents to allow them to work for US companies and launder the funds back to North Korea. She also sent 49 laptops and other devices received from the defrauded companies to foreign locations, including multiple shipments to a Chinese city on the North Korean border. Over 90 computers were seized from her house during a raid in October 2023.
Payroll checks were also received at Chapman’s address, with direct deposits sent to her US bank account. This illegal revenue was then laundered and funneled to North Korea, potentially contributing to its weapons programs.
This isn’t the first time the US has taken action against these fake IT workers. In January 2025, the US DOJ indicted 5 individuals, including two North Koreans, two Americans, and a Mexican, for running a similar scam. This operation laundered over $800,000 to the DPRK. In a separate case, the DOJ estimated that North Korean IT workers cost US businesses at least $88 million over six years.
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