Woman sentenced to 8 years for helping North Koreans hack US firms
▼ Summary
– Christina Marie Chapman was sentenced to 102 months for aiding North Korean IT workers in infiltrating 309 U.S. companies through a fraud scheme.
– Chapman and Ukrainian Oleksandr Didenko were charged with identity theft, fraud, and money laundering, with Didenko running a platform facilitating fake identities for North Koreans.
– Chapman hosted a “laptop farm” at her home to make it appear North Korean workers were in the U.S., shipping devices overseas and processing their $17 million in illicit paychecks.
– The scheme involved North Koreans working remotely for major U.S. companies, including Fortune 500 firms, using false identities.
– The U.S. government has taken actions against this network, including sanctions on a North Korean front company and updated FBI guidance for businesses.
Arizona woman Christina Marie Chapman has been sentenced to over eight years in federal prison for her role in a sophisticated operation that helped North Korean IT professionals fraudulently gain employment with hundreds of American companies. The 50-year-old pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including identity theft and money laundering, after authorities uncovered her involvement in the elaborate scheme.
Court records reveal Chapman maintained a “laptop farm” in her home between 2020 and 2023, where she hosted computers used by North Korean workers. This setup allowed them to appear as if they were operating within the U.S., bypassing remote work location checks by employers. The operation reportedly infiltrated 309 companies, including major corporations in aerospace, media, and Silicon Valley.
Chapman worked alongside Ukrainian national Oleksandr Didenko, who operated an online platform called UpWorkSell, later seized by authorities, that facilitated fake identities for North Korean job seekers. Three other foreign nationals, identified only by aliases, were also implicated in the conspiracy.
The fraudulent scheme generated more than $17 million in illicit payments, with Chapman processing paychecks through her accounts. Investigators found she shipped dozens of company-provided laptops overseas, including to a Chinese city near the North Korean border. A 2023 search of her home uncovered over 90 devices linked to the operation.
In response to the case, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned a North Korean front company and three individuals tied to similar IT worker scams. The Justice Department and FBI have since intensified warnings to businesses about hiring risks, urging stricter verification processes for remote employees.
This sentencing follows broader U.S. efforts to crack down on North Korea’s global IT worker networks, which have been used to generate revenue in violation of international sanctions. Previous advisories highlighted the regime’s reliance on such schemes to fund its activities abroad.
(Source: BLEEPING COMPUTER)