TikTok Star Gets 8.5-Year Prison Sentence for Helping North Korea Dodge IT Sanctions

Another day, another influencer learning the hard way that crime doesn’t trend.

When your side hustle funds nuclear pariahs

The US Department of Justice dropped the hammer this week—sentencing a social media personality to over eight years for running digital interference for Pyongyang. Details remain classified, but court documents reveal a sophisticated operation exploiting crypto payments and shell companies to bypass export controls.

Sanctions? More like suggestions

While Wall Street gets slaps on the wrist for billion-dollar fraud, this case proves Main Street influencers face real consequences. The defendant allegedly funneled IT services through Chinese front companies, netting North Korea access to restricted cloud infrastructure and payment processors. All while maintaining that #SponsoredContent lifestyle.

Just remember kids: When the SEC comes knocking, your ‘engagement metrics’ won’t save you.

TikToker Ran ‘Laptop Farm’ to Help North Korean IT Workers Pose as US Employees

According to prosecutors, Chapman operated a “laptop farm” from her home, allowing North Korean IT workers to remotely access U.S.-based networks while appearing to be physically located inside the country.

Between 2020 and her arrest, she helped operatives obtain remote roles at more than 300 American companies, including Fortune 500 firms, a major television network, and a leading aerospace manufacturer.

“Even an adversary as sophisticated as the North Korean government can’t succeed without the assistance of willing U.S. citizens like Christina Chapman,” said Roman Rozhavsky, Assistant Director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division.

US authorities say North Korea has built a global network of IT operatives who use fake identities and proxy networks to secure jobs and channel funds to the regime.

Chapman’s activities helped facilitate these efforts by setting up U.S.-based internet access, laundering wages through personal bank accounts, and shipping laptops overseas, including multiple devices sent to a Chinese city NEAR North Korea.

Investigators seized more than 90 laptops from her residence and discovered she had sent 49 more abroad.

The wages earned by the North Korean agents were misreported to the US tax and social security agencies under stolen or borrowed American identities.

The crypto sector remains a key target in this operation. According to Chainalysis, North Korean-linked hackers stole $1.34 billion in cryptocurrency in 2024 alone, up 21% from the previous year.

Cybersecurity experts say North Korean job seekers are increasingly sophisticated, often hiring European actors to front video interviews while using VPNs and proxy IPs to conceal their locations.

North Korea Linked to Major Crypto Hacks

North Korea has also been linked to several other major crypto heists, including those targeting Bybit, the Ronin Bridge, Harmony, and various DeFi platforms.

Global law enforcement is responding. The U.S. Department of Justice recently moved to seize over $7.7 million in digital assets tied to North Korean IT workers embedded in blockchain firms.

Meanwhile, the U.S. and South Korea signed a bilateral agreement in 2023 to enhance their technical capabilities in detecting and countering DPRK cyber operations.

North Korean cyber strategies continue to evolve. In April, Lazarus-linked operatives reportedly set up US-based shell companies to distribute malware to crypto developers.

Kraken recently thwarted an infiltration attempt by a suspected North Korean posing as a job candidate.