Matthew M. Graves U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia
Christina Marie Chapman, a 48-year-old resident of Litchfield Park, Arizona, has pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Washington D.C. for her role in a fraudulent scheme that generated over $17 million for herself and North Korea. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., along with officials from the Justice Department's Criminal Division, the FBI Phoenix Field Office, and IRS Criminal Investigation's Phoenix Field Office.
Chapman admitted to charges including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. Her sentencing is scheduled for June 16, 2025. As part of the plea agreement, it is recommended that she serve between 94 to 111 months in federal prison.
Court documents reveal that from October 2020 to October 2023, Chapman conspired with overseas IT workers to steal identities of U.S. nationals and apply for remote IT jobs using those identities. This involved transmitting false documents to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and securing positions at numerous U.S. companies.
Chapman maintained a "laptop farm" at her residence where computers from these companies were hosted to create an illusion that the workers were based in the United States. This enabled overseas IT workers access to internal systems of U.S.-based companies.
The operation resulted in more than $17 million being paid out falsely reported under stolen identities to both IRS and Social Security Administration records.
The scheme affected over 300 U.S.-based companies and compromised more than 70 identities of U.S citizens while creating false tax liabilities under their names.
The investigation was conducted by several entities including the FBI Counterintelligence Division and IRS Criminal Investigation Phoenix Field Office with additional assistance from other agencies. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Prosecutors Joshua Rothstein, Karen Seifert, Thomas Gillice along with Trial Attorney Ashley Pungello.
