PHOENIX — A woman from Litchfield Park has been sentenced to over eight years in federal prison for operating a “laptop farm” that facilitated remote job fraud on behalf of North Korea, U.S. officials announced Thursday.
Christina Chapman, 50, was sentenced to 102 months behind bars after pleading guilty earlier this year to charges including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering.
According to the Department of Justice, Chapman helped individuals connected to North Korea fraudulently obtain employment with over 300 U.S. companies, generating an estimated $17 million in revenue — a portion of which was funneled overseas.
Authorities say Chapman stole the identities of 68 U.S. citizens to apply for remote IT positions. She operated her scheme between October 2020 and October 2023, using contract work agencies and staffing companies to disguise the fraud.
As part of the operation, Chapman received work devices — including laptops and other equipment — from American businesses, which she kept at her home to make it appear that the work was being completed in the U.S. In reality, the labor was carried out by foreign nationals, with some laptops eventually shipped to locations near the China-North Korea border.
A search warrant executed in late 2023 uncovered more than 90 laptops connected to the scheme. Investigators also discovered forged checks and direct deposit payments that Chapman had redirected into her own bank accounts.
She was ordered to forfeit more than $284,000 and pay a judgment of nearly $177,000, in addition to serving three years of supervised release after her prison term.
Court records also show she misrepresented millions in earnings to the IRS and Social Security Administration, further extending the impact of her fraud.
Officials said the operation not only defrauded 309 U.S. and international businesses, including Fortune 500 companies, but also enabled North Korean actors to access U.S. job markets under false pretenses.
