Arizona Woman Sentenced to 8.5 Years in Prison for Assisting North Korean Hackers in Breaching U.S. Cryptocurrency Firms

According to a report by Jinse Finance, the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia has announced that Christina Marie Chapman, a woman from Arizona, has been sentenced to 102 months (approximately 8.5 years) in prison for assisting North Korean hackers in using false identities to infiltrate U.S. cryptocurrency and technology companies. Prosecutors accused Chapman of collaborating with North Korean agents to help them secure remote IT positions at more than 300 U.S. companies, with these North Korean operatives posing as U.S. citizens and residents. The scheme generated over $17 million in illicit proceeds. In addition to imprisonment, Chapman was ordered to forfeit more than $284,000 in related funds and pay nearly $177,000 in restitution. Reports indicate that the case involved the theft of identities from 68 Americans, the deception of 309 U.S. businesses and 2 international companies, making it one of the largest North Korean IT worker infiltration cases ever prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice.