An Arizona woman was sentenced to more than eight years in prison for helping North Korea exploit hundreds of American companies, while generating more than $17 million for herself and the foreign government, the U.S. Department of Justice announced July 24.

In February, Christina Marie Chapman, a 50-year-old resident of Litchfield Park, pleaded guilty to charges stemming from her role in a scheme to obtain remote jobs in the U.S. for overseas information technology workers by having them pose as legal residents.

She was charged last year with aggravated identity theft, as well as conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments.

U.S. District Court Judge Randolph D. Moss in Washington, D.C., ordered Chapman to serve 102 months in prison and three years of supervised release. She must also forfeit nearly $285,000 that she intended to send to North Korea and pay a $176,850 judgment.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Galeotti said the yearslong scheme defrauded more than 300 companies, resulting in a dozen stolen identities of U.S. citizens.

“Chapman made the wrong calculation: short-term personal gains that inflict harm on our citizens and support a foreign adversary will have severe long-term consequences,” he said in the department’s announcement.

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What US companies unknowingly hired North Korean tech workers?

Chapman helped North Korean IT workers secure jobs at 309 American businesses and two international companies, including Fortune 500 corporations, according to the Justice Department.

The companies included a major television network, a Silicon Valley technology company, an aerospace manufacturer and an American car maker.

Chapman would host the overseas workers' computers, so it looked like they were in the U.S., according to court records. She also shipped nearly 50 laptops and other devices overseas, including to a Chinese city that borders North Korea.

During the FBI’s investigation, investigators found more than 90 laptops at Chapman’s home.

Using the names of people whose identities were stolen, she reported to the IRS and Social Security Administration millions of dollars in income that the North Korean workers generated, according to the Justice Department.

Prosecutors said she also forged and received payroll checks and direct deposits on behalf of the overseas workers.

“The scheme was elaborate,” said Carissa Messick, the special agent in charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation Phoenix Field Office. “If this sentencing proves anything, it’s that no amount of obfuscation will prevent IRS-CI and our law enforcement partners from tracking down those who wish to steal the identities of U.S. nationals, launder money, or engage in criminality that jeopardizes national security.”

North Korean government will go to great lengths for money, FBI agent says

According to the Justice Department, Chapman represented one aspect of a larger scheme in which thousands of high-skilled IT workers from North Korea are deployed across the world.

Tasked with obtaining remote employment, they use falsified, stolen, or borrowed identities, oftentimes with the help of U.S.-based collaborators such as Chapman.

“The sentencing today demonstrates the great lengths to which the North Korean government will go in its efforts and resources to fund its illicit activities,” Special Agent in Charge Heith Janke of the FBI Phoenix Field Office said.

“The FBI continues to pursue these threat actors to disrupt their network and hold those accountable wherever they may be,” Janke said.

How companies can protect themselves from hiring North Korean workers

The FBI published guidance to help businesses spot when a job applicant may be impersonating someone else during the hiring process.

It advised companies to scrutinize a person’s identity verification documents, like checking for misspellings and cross-referencing photos and contact information.

Businesses should also verify the applicant’s prior employment and education history, as well as require in-person interviews or drug tests, when possible. If the interview must be done remotely, the FBI suggested that cameras be on and backgrounds remain unobscured.

The FBI also recommended analyzing employees’ payment methods, like monitoring those who routinely change their bank accounts.

“I encourage companies to remain vigilant of these cyber threats, and warn individuals who may be tempted by similar schemes to take heed of today’s sentence," Galeotti said.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizonan sentenced to 8 years in prison for helping North Korea exploit U.S. companies