Woman sentenced to 102 months for $17M fraud scheme that benefitted North Korea

PHOENIX — An Arizona woman has been sentenced to 102 months in prison for a scheme that deceived companies into believing they were hiring American workers for their IT companies.

Christina Marie Chapman, 50, of Litchfield Park, pleaded guilty earlier this year on Feb. 11 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. 

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“Chapman made the wrong calculation: short-term personal gains that inflict harm on our citizens and support a foreign adversary will have severe long-term consequences,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

Federal authorities said Chapman’s scheme generated more than $17 million in illicit revenue for North Korea.

Hundreds of American companies were affected by the scheme, according to Galeotti.

The impacted companies included a top-five major television network, a Silicon Valley technology company, an aerospace manufacturer, an American car maker, a luxury retail store, and a U.S media and entertainment company.

“Christina Chapman perpetrated a years’ long scheme that resulted in millions of dollars raised for the DPRK regime, exploited more than 300 American companies and government agencies, and stole dozens of identities of American citizens,” said Galeotti.

The identities of 68 victims in the United States were stolen in the “elaborate” international scheme, according to the FBI.

In addition to Chapman’s prison sentence, she will serve three years of supervised release and have to pay a judgment of $176,850. She will also have to forfeit the $284,555.92 that was to be paid to the North Koreans.

“I encourage companies to remain vigilant of these cyber threats, and warn individuals who may be tempted by similar schemes to take heed of today’s sentence,” said Galeotti.

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