North Korea has tapped into a new cash stream — an American “piggy bank.” Tens of Millions Laundered - video Dailymotion

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August 9, 2025  In recent years, thousands of North Korean IT specialists have assumed stolen or fabricated U.S. identities to pose as Western software developers, engineers, and tech consultants—channeling hundreds of millions of dollars annually into Pyongyang’s military programs. But their infiltration of corporate America isn’t built on deception alone—it often depends on assistance from within the United States. CNN’s Ivan Watson reports on how one American woman helped funnel $17 million to North Korea.

Transcript

00:00Arizona resident Christina Chapman takes what may be one of the longest walks of her life,

00:16trailed by a documentary crew. She's going to court for sentencing after pleading guilty

00:23to criminal charges including wire fraud and identity theft.

00:26Ms. Chapman, I'm Ivan Watson with CNN. Did you know that you were working with North Koreans?

00:33U.S. law enforcement says Chapman ran laptop farms for North Korea.

00:38She was involved with an extremely dangerous and serious and sophisticated criminal scheme

00:43in which individuals were directed by the government of North Korea to apply for

00:48information technology jobs to make it appear that they were either U.S.-based workers or

00:54workers in third-party countries that were not sanctioned.

00:57Hi, everybody. I'm a TikTok fan.

01:00Chapman documented her life extensively on TikTok from poverty in 2021.

01:06I'm classified as homeless in Minnesota.

01:09To two years later when she had a new job in what she described as the computer business.

01:14It allowed her to rent this house in Arizona.

01:16I start at 5.30, go straight to my office, which is the next door away from my bedroom.

01:24And in September 2023, Chapman took a trip to Japan.

01:28I'm currently in Japan, which is crazy.

01:32But the next month, the FBI raided Chapman's house, seizing more than 90 laptops and accusing

01:38her of helping North Koreans use stolen and purchased U.S. identities to get remote I.T. worker jobs

01:45at more than 300 U.S. companies, earning North Korea more than $17 million, including at least

01:53$75,000 that the shoe giant Nike paid unwittingly to a North Korean employee.

02:00Authorities say Nike has since conducted an investigation following the incident.

02:05Why is this case important?

02:07It's funneling money back to North Korea, which is sanctioned for its nuclear weapons program.

02:13So in other words, we are resourcing one of the most hostile nations in the world funding

02:18their weapons program.

02:22How much of a risk are these North Korean fake I.T. worker schemes to American companies?

02:30Extraordinary.

02:31We've had examples where intellectual property rights are stolen.

02:35Confidential company information is stolen.

02:37We've even had cases where some of these North Korean I.T. workers extort the company whose data

02:43they're stealing.

02:45If you post remote software engineering jobs and those positions are listed on a site like Indeed,

02:52I can guarantee you, you are fielding resumes from North Korea.

02:55Brian Jack knows firsthand. Last year, his company unwittingly hired a North Korean and only discovered

03:03something was wrong when the individual tried to install malware onto a laptop the company shipped him.

03:09If you don't know what to look for, you're very likely going to get scammed or in a lot of cases

03:15have already been scammed.

03:17Now, he says his teams are experts on spotting North Korean job applicants.

03:23In the last year, I know of and have looked at at least a hundred North Korean resumes.

03:28Jack says the North Koreans flood job application sites with fake profiles.

03:33They often use similar generic names and almost identical job and educational experience.

03:39They also use AI-generated photos and even AI face filters.

03:45Like, are you using something to, like, change your camera view?

03:49Such as this one, where the man on the left used a Caucasian filter to hide his identity

03:54in an online job interview.

03:56I can see that you're using some kind of software.

03:59But in some cases, they show their real faces.

04:02Yeah, actually, I can commute to the office once a month, once a quarter.

04:06Totally, I have six years of experience working as a foreign agent.

04:11I can donate immediately.

04:12This is an instruction manual by them, for them.

04:18This is an instruction guide, a manual for how to create a fake ID.

04:22For, specifically for U.S.

04:24IT security expert Michael Barnhart has been collecting evidence

04:27that the North Koreans accidentally share.

04:31We've seen their chats, we've seen their emails, we've seen their faces.

04:35Photos taken by North Koreans in the office,

04:38yachting in a Chinese border region,

04:41and holding North Korean flags at a youth sporting event in far eastern Russia.

04:46And they've got everything documented.

04:48Their SOPs are there.

04:49They're saying...

04:49Barnhart is a U.S. Army veteran who deployed to Iraq as a teenager.

04:54Today, he focuses on North Korean cyber threats.

04:57He works with a group of self-proclaimed misfits and cybersecurity experts

05:13who expose false North Korean profiles.

05:16They gave CNN exclusive access to data sets that include the North Koreans' Google searches.

05:23They're looking for the word remote.

05:25They're looking for the word developer.

05:28Revealing how they pull off the scheme by downloading VPNs, remote working software,

05:33and using Google Translate to help set up job interviews.

05:36So when will I do a tech interview?

05:40In some cases, even leveraging ChatGPT to try to fit in with American society,

05:46asking questions like,

05:47I want to know about American football,

05:49and when is lunchtime in the USA?

05:53The Department of Justice estimates the fake IT worker scheme

05:57earns North Korea $225 to $600 million a year.

06:02Overseas criminal organizations view Americans as their own personal piggy bank.

06:08We can't let that happen.

06:10North Korea's foreign ministry responded to the U.S. prosecutions,

06:14calling them a smear campaign and the fabrication of cyber drama.

06:19U.S. law enforcement can't physically catch North Koreans.

06:23I was working remotely most of the time.

06:26Believed to be running their schemes out of China and Russia.

06:28But American laptop farmers are a different story.

06:33These schemes always happen with U.S.-based facilitators,

06:36whether they're financial facilitators allowing their bank accounts to be used,

06:40whether they're hosting laptop farms,

06:42or whether they're helping create or sell false identities.

06:46Do you have any message for North Korea?

06:49After pleading guilty to three criminal charges,

06:52Christina Chapman expressed remorse in court,

06:55saying she first took the job to support her sick mother.

06:58And she requested psychological counseling.

07:02Her prosecution is a warning to corporate America

07:04about the North Korean threat that can come with every job application.

07:11Moments ago, I watched a judge in this courthouse sentence Christina Chapman

07:15to eight and a half years in prison.

07:18He said the safety of the nation was at issue in this case.

07:22As for Ms. Chapman, she told the court, weeping,

07:27that she hates herself for what she did and that she feels like a monster.

07:34Can I give you a hug?

07:36Yes.

07:36I was in thekok hobbies.

07:51Can I give you a hug?

07:52I can give it to you.

07:53I can give it to me.

07:54Well, let me give it to you.

07:54Let me give you a hug.

07:54If I deal with it, I feel like I want to give it to you.

07:55I have to get to guys that you can give it to us all right.

07:57And get to me?

07:58Right, you will still get to ease of mind.

07:58I hope you're going to make it even for your firstbie.

08:00I can give it to each other event.

08:00I can give it to you guys.

08:01If you just accept the situation,

08:02and look for it.

08:02I'm proud to tap you.

North Korea has tapped into a new cash stream — an American “piggy bank.” Tens of Millions Laundered

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