She aided North Korea in gaining access to U.S. technology companies.

Suburban Mom Turned Cyber Middleman for North Korea

This isn’t a Netflix plot — it unfolded in Litchfield Park, a quiet suburb about 20 minutes from Phoenix. Christina Chapman, 50, presented as an ordinary neighborhood resident, but inside her home she ran a covert operation that helped North Korean IT operatives infiltrate U.S. companies and funnel resources back to Pyongyang.

A Home-Based Hub for Fraudulent Hires

Because North Korean nationals are barred from legally working for American firms, they relied on stolen identities to pose as remote employees. Chapman’s role was to make those deceptions work in practice. Over roughly three years she turned her house into a logistics and tech center, receiving more than 100 laptops and smartphones sent by major U.S. banks, top tech firms and at least one government contractor — all intended for supposed U.S.-based hires.

Masking Remote Access and Faking Presence

Once the devices arrived, Chapman prepared them for overseas use: installing VPNs and remote-access software such as AnyDesk and Chrome Remote Desktop, and even setting up voice-modulation tools. These measures were designed to make it appear the operatives were logging in from inside the United States. When companies requested video identity checks, Chapman sometimes impersonated applicants on camera, staging interviews and coaching the operatives on how to pass scrutiny.

Shipping Devices Abroad and Moving Money

Chapman also forwarded dozens of devices — 49 laptops and other equipment — to destinations overseas, including a city in China near the North Korean border. The fake employees then performed day-to-day work: coding, attending meetings and answering emails, while secretly siphoning technology and salary payments that benefited North Korea. Chapman received about $800,000 in “service fees,” while investigators say the total diverted payroll exceeded $17 million.

A National Security Concern

The FBI has characterized the scheme as a threat to national security. Authorities allege Chapman helped launder stolen salaries through U.S. bank accounts and essentially acted as an employment front for North Korean cyber personnel. Chapman described her actions as “helping her friends,” but prosecutors say the operation materially supported the regime’s efforts to acquire technology and funds.

The Fallout

The case has drawn attention both for its scale and for the unusual setting: a suburban home used to enable a sophisticated, transnational recruitment and fraud network. Officials have pursued criminal charges, highlighting how remote hiring vulnerabilities can be exploited by state-backed actors.