Christina Marie Chapman, a freelancer from Arizona with over 100,000 TikTok followers, has been sentenced to eight and a half years in prison after helping North Korean workers get hired by US companies using false identities.
A court in Washington, DC found her guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, identity theft, and money laundering.
Along with the prison time, she will spend three more years under supervision, forfeit over $284,000, and repay $176,850.
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FBI Counterintelligence Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky said in a July 24 press release that she played a key part in a plan that brought in around $17 million to fund North Korea’s weapons development. He added:
Even an adversary as sophisticated as the North Korean government can’t succeed without the assistance of willing US citizens like Christina Chapman.
Starting in 2020, Chapman worked with North Korean agents to set up US-based remote jobs for overseas IT workers.
To make it seem like those workers were physically located in the US, she ran a “laptop farm” from her home. She connected dozens of company-issued computers to the internet so that remote users could log in without raising suspicion.
Officials later recovered more than 90 computers from her home. Chapman also sent 49 devices to addresses overseas, including several in a city near North Korea’s border.
Chapman moved the money through her own accounts. She also helped file tax documents and Social Security forms under the names of the people whose identities were being used.
On July 16, Paul Chowles, a former officer from the UK’s National Crime Agency, got 5.5 years for stealing 50 Bitcoin
$116,063.73
in a Silk Road 2.0 probe. How did the case unfold? Read the full story.
Having completed a Master’s degree in Economics, Politics, and Cultures of the East Asia region, Aaron has written scientific papers analyzing the differences between Western and Collective forms of capitalism in the post-World War II era.With close to a decade of experience in the FinTech industry, Aaron understands all of the biggest issues and struggles that crypto enthusiasts face. He’s a passionate analyst who is concerned with data-driven and fact-based content, as well as that which speaks to both Web3 natives and industry newcomers.Aaron is the go-to person for everything and anything related to digital currencies. With a huge passion for blockchain & Web3 education, Aaron strives to transform the space as we know it, and make it more approachable to complete beginners.Aaron has been quoted by multiple established outlets, and is a published author himself. Even during his free time, he enjoys researching the market trends, and looking for the next supernova.
