Unassuming Arizona woman helped Kim Jong-un fund North Korea's nuclear weapons

A woman has admitted to stealing the identities of 68 US citizens to pass them on to North Korea. Christina Chapman was jailed for eight and a half years after her elaborate scheme investigators called “staggering”.

The ruse saw Chapman stealing identities for foreign workers to pose as Americans and gain employment from October 2020 to 2023. From her home in Minnesota and Arizona, Chapman ran a “laptop farm” using computers issued by US companies.

Such was the scale of her operation, Chapman, 50, even employed two people to help her. In photos shared by prosecutors, rows of laptops were stacked on shelves with notes stuck to them which revealed the company and identity being used for each device.

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This gave the appearance of the North Korean workers being in the US. More than 300 separate companies were caught out by the scheme, with funds totalling over £12.5 million being generated which were sent back to North Korea and used for its nuclear weapons programme, officials said.

A total of 309 companies were caught out, including Nike and other members of the Fortune 500 list. Officials have issued a stark warning to companies, advising them not to be duped by the scheme.

US Attorney for Washington DC General Jeanine Pirro said North Korea is an “enemy within” and is “perpetrating fraud on American citizens, American companies, and American banks”. She added that North Korea used the cash it generated to “to buy munitions to be used against us”.

She continued: "The call is coming from inside the house. If this happened to these big banks, to these Fortune 500, brand name, quintessential American companies, it can or is happening at your company… You are the first line of defense against the North Korean threat.”

The FBI, which aided the investigation, said North Korea has pocketed “millions of dollars for its nuclear weapons program by victimizing American citizens, businesses, and financial institutions".

It added: “However, even an adversary as sophisticated as the North Korean government can't succeed without the assistance of willing US citizens like Christina Chapman.”

Following her May 2024 arrest in Arizona, Chapman was handed a prison sentence of 102 months on Thursday after the 50-year-old pleaded guilty in February to aggravated identity theft, money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Three North Koreans who were also charged had ties to the Munitions Industry Department in their home rogue state, the BBC reported.

Chapman, whom prosecutors said insisted her work was "legitimate", pocketed the equivalent of over £131,000 for her part in the scheme. She was ordered to pay back, as well as around £211,000 that was profit destined for North Korea.

Prosecutors said Chapman claims she did not know she was working with North Koreans. But this was disputed by officials, who revealed she sent 35 packages to the city of Dandong in China, which is on the border with North Korea. Packages were also sent to the UAE, Nigeria and Pakistan.