Federal housing finance regulator Bill Pulte accused Cook of mortgage fraud.
President Donald Trump urged Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook to resign following allegations of mortgage fraud.
“Cook must resign, now!” Trump said in an Aug. 20 Truth Social post.
His statement came shortly after Bill Pulte, chairman of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), posted on X a criminal referral letter, dated Aug. 15, to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Special Attorney Ed Martin.
Pulte alleged that Cook may have committed mortgage fraud by falsifying “bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms” and lower interest rates.
The letter alleges that she may have misrepresented the status of two properties—one in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and another in Atlanta—as her primary residence in 2021. Both homes were identified as her main residence within weeks of each other.
According to the letter, Cook also listed the Atlanta-based property for rent, despite stating in mortgage documents that it would be her primary home.
“While the property was listed for rent in 2022, a review of Ms. Cook’s federal government financial disclosures for calendar years 2022 and 2023 indicate that she has not disclosed any rental income tied to this address,” Pulte wrote.
The Federal Reserve and the Department of Justice declined to comment.
In a series of follow-up posts on X, Pulte said the president has cause to fire Cook.
“She needs to quit because what she did is grounds for firing,” Pulte said.
He also shared a published January 2023 Fed research paper that examined occupancy fraud in residential mortgage originations, determining that borrowers who misrepresented their occupancy status “performed worse” and that “their default decisions are also more strategic than other borrower types.”
“Will [Fed Chair] Jay Powell stand behind the Fed’s published research on mortgage fraud, or is he going to be complicit with Cook’s alleged fraud?” Pulte said.
Cook, appointed to the Fed Board in 2022 by President Joe Biden, is a permanent voting member on the interest rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). Her term extends until 2038.
By Andrew Moran
