How an Arizona woman helped North Korean workers infiltrate American companies
newYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
This isn’t a new Netflix series ripped from the headlines. This actually happened in a quiet neighborhood called Litchfield Park, about a 20-minute drive from Phoenix.
Christina Chapman, 50, looked like an ordinary middle-aged woman from the suburbs. But inside her humble home? A secret cyber operations center has been set up to help North Korean IT workers procure equipment and tools for their military by hacking into hundreds of US companies.
A woman learns her fate after the Justice Department pleaded guilty and admitted that she helped North Korean tech workers hack American companies
Christina Chapman, 50, of Litchfield Park, Arizona, set up a massive cyber operation that helped North Korean actors hack American companies. (Ministry of Justice)
That picture above was just a small part of her preparation.
North Korean workers don’t browse LinkedIn or apply to Google, Amazon, or Meta. They can’t. The sanctions prevent them from working for American companies, at least legally. So what do they do?
They steal the identities of real Americans, including names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, and more. They then use them to pose as remote IT workers, infiltrating American companies under anyone’s radar.
But when companies send laptops and phones to “new remote employees”? These devices cannot be shipped to Pyongyang.
Enter Christina
Over the course of three years, Christina transformed her suburban home into a covert operations center for North Korea’s cybercriminal elite.
It received more than 100 laptops and smartphones shipped from companies across the U.S., and these were not no-name startups. We’re talking here about major US banks, high-profile technology companies, and at least one US government contractor.
Everyone thought they were hiring US-based workers remotely. They had no idea they were actually grooming North Korean agents.
Once the equipment arrived, Chapman connected the devices to VPNs, remote desktop tools like AnyDesk and Chrome Remote Desktop, and even voice-changing software.
the goal? To make it appear as if the North Koreans were logging in from within the United States. Chapman also shipped 49 laptops and other devices provided by American companies to locations abroad, including multiple shipments to a city in China on the border with North Korea.
North Korea lashes out after Trump unveils massive IT hacking scheme
Fake Chapman employees “appeared” from around the world every day, transferring American money and technology directly into the Kim regime. (Ministry of Justice)
Follow the money
These fake employees “show up” every day, delivering code, answering emails, and attending meetings, all from half a world away. In effect, they were transferring American technology and money directly to Kim Jong Un’s regime.
When HR teams asked for video verification, Chapman didn’t blink.
She jumped in front of the camera as herself, sometimes in costume, pretending to be the person in the biopic. She ran the whole operation like a talent agency for cybercriminals, setting up fake job interviews, coaching clients on what to say, and even laundering their salaries through US banks.
Her take? At least $800,000, payable as a “service fee.”
Total distance to North Korea? More than $17 million in stolen payroll, according to the FBI, which called the scheme a national security threat. Chapman called her “helping her friends.” truly.
Kim Jong Un’s young daughter is being groomed to lead the regime after visiting military parade in China: expert
North Korea got more than $17 million in stolen salaries, thanks to the Chapman scheme. (Edgar Su/Reuters)
Eventually, the scam began to unravel. Investigators noticed strange patterns such as dozens upon dozens of remote employees, all registering the same Arizona address, or company systems being accessed from countries the workers had supposedly never visited.
Chapman was arrested and sentenced in July 2025 to 102 months in federal prison.
And the most brutal part? She did it all from her living room. Talk about working from home!
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Be more tech savvy with your schedule
Award-winning host Kim Komando is your secret weapon for navigating technology.
- National Radio: It airs on over 500 stations across the US – find your channel or get the free podcast.
- Daily bulletin: Join 650,000 people reading the current (free!) newsletter.
- He watches: On Kim’s YouTube channel
Copyright 2025, WestStar Multimedia Entertainment. All rights reserved.