How an Arizona woman helped North Korean workers infiltrate US companies

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This isn't a ripped-from-the-headlines new Netflix series. It actually happened in the quiet area of Litchfield Park, about 20 minutes away. from Phoenix.

Christina Chapman, 50, looked like your average middle-aged suburban woman. But inside her humble home? A secret cyber operations center built to help North Korean IT specialists procure equipment and tools for their military by infiltrating hundreds of American companies.

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Christina Chapman, 50, of Litchfield Park, Arizona, organized a massive cyber operation that helped North Korean actors infiltrate American companies. (Ministry of Justice)

This photo above was just a small part of her setup.

North Korean workers don't look at LinkedIn or apply to Google, Amazon and Meta. They can't. Sanctions prevent them from working for American companies, at least legally. So what are they doing?

They steal the personal information of real Americans, including names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and more. They then exploit them by posing as remote IT professionals, infiltrating American companies without anyone noticing.

But when do companies send out laptops and phones to their “remote new employees”? These devices cannot be sent to Pyongyang.

Enter Christina

Over the course of three years, Christina turned her country home into the center of covert operations for North Korea's elite cybercriminals.

She received more than 100 laptops and smartphones sent from companies all over the United States. These weren't no-name startups. We're talking about major US banks, leading technology companies and at least one US government contractor.

Everyone thought they were hiring remote workers from the US. They had no idea they were actually involved in the work North Korean operatives.

Once the equipment arrived, Chapman connected the devices to a VPN, remote desktop tools like AnyDesk and Chrome Remote Desktop, and even installed voice changing software.

Target? To create the impression that the North Koreans entered the system from within the United States. Chapman also shipped 49 laptops and other devices supplied by U.S. companies overseas, including several shipments to a city in China on the border with North Korea.

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Christina Chapman, US Department of Justice crime scene photo

Chapman's fake employees “showed up” every day from around the world, funneling American money and technology directly to the Kim regime. (Ministry of Justice)

Follow the money

These fake employees “showed up” every day, sending code, answering emails, holding meetings, all from all over the world. In reality, they were pumping American technology and money directly into the Kim Jong-un regime.

When HR asked for video verification, Chapman didn't even blink.

She jumped on camera herself, sometimes in costume, pretending to be the person on the resume. She ran the entire operation as a talent agency for cybercriminals, setting up fake interviews, training operatives on what to say, and even laundering their salaries through US banks.

Her option? At least $800,000 in “service fees.”

Total production for North Korea? More than $17 million in wages was stolen, according to the FBI, which called the scheme a national security threat. Chapman called it “helping friends.” Really.

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North Korea made more than $17 million in stolen wages thanks to Chapman's scheme. (Edgar Su/Reuters)

Eventually the fraud began to be revealed. Investigators noticed strange patterns: dozens and dozens of remote employees indicated the same thing. Arizona addressor company systems are accessed from countries that employees have allegedly never visited.

Chapman was arrested and sentenced in July 2025 to 102 months in federal prison.

And the wildest part? She did all this from her living room. Let's talk about working from home!

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