A former Department of Homeland Security cybersecurity employee has pled guilty to federal fraud charges after prosecutors claim she billed taxpayers for workdays that lasted more than 24 hours while surreptitiously working for six different federal contractors in addition to her full-time government job. Richeline Anisso Fung, 46, of Pembroke Pines, Florida, and previously of Maryland, agreed to the plan in a plea agreement filed in Washington, D.C.
According to the US Department of Justice, Fung filed a guilty plea on September 2 in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia before U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan. She pled guilty to one count of making false, fictitious, or fraudulent representations under 18 U.S.C. § 287, a federal statute with a possible punishment of up to five years in prison and fines of up to $250,000. Sooknanan’s sentencing is planned for January 20, 2027.
Fung worked for DHS’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, or CISA, from September 2016 until October 2025. According to Nextgov/FCW, she held contractor positions for six additional federal entities between January 2021 and August 2024: the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Department of Energy, the Department of Justice, the Federal Highway Administration, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the United States Department of Agriculture.
Some of the contractor work was done directly, while others was done through RAF Pro-Consulting LLC, a Florida business Fung founded in 2020, according to townhall.com. Prosecutors allege that Fung disguised her overlapping DHS-CISA employment and contractor jobs from all of the organizations involved. According to the Nextgov/FCW analysis, she was able to keep the arrangement disguised since each role was completed remotely via telework, leaving the several agencies without a shared payroll system to cross-check her hours.
Investigators discovered the scam when they investigated her billing records. According to the Justice Department, in February 2022, Fung worked more than 24 hours in a single day on 15 separate occasions while charging CISA and three contractor responsibilities supporting the DOJ, USDA, and FHWA. This comprised four days of reported 33-hour shifts from February 7 to 10, 2022, followed by a purported 32-hour day on February 11.
Federal timesheets compel employees to record their hours under pain of law, therefore mathematically impossible inputs are an obvious red flag. Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald stated that Fung “abused her positions as a federal employee and government contractor to steal nearly $250,000 from the U.S. government.” According to prosecutors, the scam cost roughly a quarter million dollars, and Fung is required to pay full restitution under her plea agreement.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro stated that Fung “stole a quarter-million dollars from American taxpayers and must pay full restitution.” According to townhall.com, Kondi Kleinman is prosecuting the case, while Fung is represented by defense attorney William L. Drake of Steptoe & Johnson LLP, according to PacerMonitor court records. The case is USA v. Fung, No. 1:26-cr-00177, and was filed in Washington’s federal court in late July.
Untangling Fung’s cross-agency billing necessitated collaboration from numerous oversight authorities. According to The BayNet, the issue was examined jointly by the AmeriCorps Inspector General’s Office, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Health and Human Services, as well as the FBI’s Washington Field Office.
According to the DOJ’s release quoted in the story, the case is handled by the Justice Department’s newly established National Fraud Enforcement Division, which focuses on investigating and prosecuting persons who steal or fraudulently misuse taxpayer funds. On April 7, 2026, then-Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche formally established the division, which is led by McDonald and consolidates federal fraud cases under one roof; according to Latham & Watkins LLP, the division transferred more than 150 prosecutors to centralize data-driven fraud prosecutions nationwide.
Fung’s case also fits neatly into a larger executive effort to ferret out fraud throughout federal agencies. President Trump’s Task Force to eradicate Fraud, chaired by Vise President JD Vance, seeks to eradicate fraud, waste, and abuse in federal welfare programs. According to a White House announcement, as of August, the task force had identified around $230 billion in federal fraud and prevented $56 billion in incorrect payments across government programs.
Those data are set against a far larger backdrop. According to Maynard Nexsen, estimates from the United States Government Accountability Office referenced in Justice Department enforcement directions for 2026 place total annual government fraud losses between $233 billion and $521 billion. This article also covers timesheet overbilling and remote work double-dipping. What Fung’s particular work obligations at CISA included, and if her overlapping employment jeopardized any security clearances or sensitive government data, remain unanswered concerns in court documents thus far.
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