A HUD employee has pleaded guilty to making false claims about her remote work activity, costing the government over $200,000.
Crissy Monique Baker, 45, of Fairfax, Virginia, will be sentenced in September to a single charge of fraud that allegedly occurred while she was employed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development between 2021 and this May. Prosecutors on Monday said the ex-management and program analyst worked in human resources roles for other federal agencies without permission from HUD.
The former HUD staffer was a human resources assistant contractor for AmeriCorps between 2021 and 2023, and in 2022 worked for seven months in a similar role for a National Institutes of Health contractor. The HUD Office of Inspector General claims Baker billed the government more than 24 hours of work per day between the roles, all of which were remote.
“Baker submitted timesheets to HUD certifying that she worked hours for the government agency that she never actually did,” the press release said.
In June 2022, Baker allegedly submitted timesheets indicating 26 hours worked per day on 13 of 21 workdays that month. Her actions cost the government approximately $226,886.
Eleven federal agencies took part in the investigation. The false claims charge carries a maximum sentence of 6 years imprisonment, a maximum fine of $250,000, and mandatory restitution.
Counsel for Baker didn’t return a request for comment Monday morning.
The criminal prosecution filed in early June was signed by interim Washington D.C. U.S. Attorney General Jeanine Pirro, a former judge, prosecutor and Fox News host who President Trump appointed in May. The administration has pledged to prioritize eliminating fraud, waste and abuse, and fellow regulator Bill Pulte has also emphasized rooting out mortgage fraud.
HUD itself has also come under scrutiny by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office, which in April agreed to probe purported cuts to the department’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity.
