WASHINGTON, DC—Today, U.S. Representative John Rose (TN-06) sent a letter to the CEO of Freddie Mac, Diana Reid, expressing concerns about the effectiveness of Freddie Mac’s oversight and management of teleworking employees following a recent incident involving a former remote employee accused of holding a separate six-figure job at the same time. The since-terminated employee was simultaneously serving as D.C. Department of Buildings (DOB) Deputy Director while working at Freddie Mac, a violation that resulted in a $25,000 fine. The employee also served as a member of the Falls Church City Council who regularly attended meetings during the work day.
While the employee has since been terminated from their position, Rep. Rose is seeking answers to a list of questions which can be found in the full letter here or read in full below.
Rep. Rose released the following statement:
“The American people deserve to know if this is an isolated incident or if corruption is running rampant through lax enforcement of teleworking policies throughout government,” said Rep. Rose. “I hope Freddie Mac takes this as a learning lesson and looks within its organization to seriously improve its remote employee policies. Those continuing to abuse the system or found responsible for enabling this to happen must be immediately fired or face the proper disciplinary measures. Correcting these egregious mistakes will go a long way in restoring Americans’ trust in Freddie Mac.”
Full letter:
“Dear Ms. Reid,
“I am writing to express my deep concern regarding the recent incident involving Caroline Lian, a former Freddie Mac employee who secretly held a six-figure job with the D.C. Department of Buildings while working full-time at Freddie Mac. Concurrently, Ms. Lian was also serving on the Falls Church (Virginia) City Council for which she received a salary of $9,200.
“What is most concerning about the conduct of Ms. Lian is how she split her time between these three different positions. The D.C. Board of Ethics and Government Accountability (BEGA) found that she never acknowledged on the required financial disclosures that she was also working at Freddie Mac along with the Department of Buildings. As a result, Ms. Lian was able to leverage a remote working schedule at Freddie Mac so that she only had to come into the office on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays while working the reverse schedule at the Department of Buildings. BEGA also found that she performed essential work functions on behalf of Freddie Mac from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Friday when she should have been working for the Department of Buildings. While it is good to hear that Ms. Lian is no longer employed by Freddie Mac after her egregious violation of employee expectations, this incident raises significant questions about the effectiveness of Freddie Mac's oversight and management of teleworking employees.
“I request that you provide detailed answers to the following questions:
- What steps is Freddie Mac taking to ensure that employees are not engaging in outside employment without proper disclosure and approval?
- Will Freddie Mac require employees to sign an annual statement, under penalty of perjury, disclosing all their outside jobs?
- Will Freddie Mac consider instituting "all hands on deck" weeks, requiring all employees to work from the office for full weeks at a time?
- How much did Ms. Lian earn each year she was employed at Freddie Mac?
- Did Ms. Lian earn any overtime benefits during her employment, and if so, how much?
- Did Ms. Lian earn any bonuses during her employment, and if so, how much?
- Would Freddie Mac be willing to publicly release any performance evaluations that Ms. Lian received?
- On average, how many hours per week does Freddie Mac suspect Ms. Lian was actually working?
- Has Freddie Mac referred this case to federal prosecutors for criminal prosecution?
- Has Freddie Mac recovered all funds paid to Ms. Lian for time she did not actually work?
- Who was Ms. Lian's direct supervisor, and will that individual face disciplinary measures for failing to supervise her adequately?
- Has all of Ms. Lian's work been investigated to ensure it was adequately carried out?
“Additionally, I request information on the following:
- Will Freddie Mac consider cutting back on tele-work as a result of this incident?
- In the last five years, has Freddie Mac uncovered any other instances of employees improperly working outside jobs? If so, please provide details.
“I request a response to these questions by November 15th, 2024. Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. I look forward to reviewing your response and working together to ensure that incidents like this do not happen in the future.”
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://johnrose.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-rose-requests-answers-freddie-mac-remote-employee-scandal