FHFA Director Pulte files second criminal referral against Fed Gov. Lisa Cook over property disclosures

09/01/2025 / By Laura Harris

FHFA Director Bill Pulte filed a second criminal referral against Fed Governor Lisa Cook, alleging she made false statements in ethics filings related to properties in Massachusetts, Georgia and Michigan.
Pulte claims Cook misclassified her Cambridge, MA condo as a “second home” to secure favorable mortgage terms, then reclassified it as a rental in ethics forms, potentially constituting mortgage fraud.
Cook is also accused of falsely declaring her Ann Arbor and Atlanta properties as primary residences while allegedly using them as rentals.
Cook has not denied the fraud allegations but filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump, Fed Chair Jerome Powell and others, calling her termination “unlawful and void.”
Cook argues that any filing errors were clerical and predated her 2022 Fed confirmation, thus not valid grounds for dismissal under the Federal Reserve Act. Her suit cites due process and constitutional violations.

Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte has filed a second criminal referral to the Department of Justice (DOJ) against Federal Reserve Board Gov. Lisa Cook.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Aug. 29, Pulte alleged that Cook made “multiple false representations” in federal ethics filings concerning real estate holdings in Massachusetts, Georgia and Michigan. The new referral, addressed to Attorney General Pam Bondi and DOJ official Ed Martin, centers on Cook’s mortgage for a condominium in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which she reportedly identified inconsistently over time as both a second home and a rental property.

According to the letter, Cook entered into a 15-year mortgage for the Cambridge condo in April 2021, identifying it as a “Second Home” on the loan application. However, by December of that year, she described the same property as an “investment/rental property” on a federal ethics form.

“In subsequent filings from 2022 to 2025, Cook consistently listed this property as an investment/rental property, not a second home,” Pulte wrote, suggesting she may have benefited from more favorable mortgage terms than she was entitled to by misclassifying the property. “Representing the property as a second home may have allowed Cook to secure a lower ‘Second Home’ mortgage down payment and rates, as investment properties typically carry higher down payments and higher rates due to increased risk.”

Pulte also added a third property to the list: A home in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Cook declared it as her personal residence in a 2025 filing, but Pulte claimed it is being used as a rental. The same issue applies to Cook’s Atlanta property. Pulte alleged that she misrepresented it as her primary residence from 2022 through 2025, despite it being rented to tenants during that period.

“These inconsistencies appear [to show] Cook made additional, multiple false representations, including to the U.S. Government,” Pulte wrote, which included images of the referral letter.

Cook sues the Trump administration for firing her over mortgage fraud allegations

Brighteon.AI’s Enoch stated that this new criminal referral follows an earlier one Pulte filed on Aug. 15, alleging that Cook designated two properties as her “primary residence” in 2021, potentially securing favorable tax treatment and interest rates. (Related: Trump fires Fed Gov. Lisa Cook over alleged mortgage fraud.)

Cook has not publicly denied the claims. Instead, she filed a federal lawsuit against President Donald Trump, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and the Fed’s Board of Governors several days after Trump fired her. She turned to the courts, asking for a declaration that her termination is “unlawful and void,” and that she remains a sitting member of the Fed Board.

In the lawsuit, Cook claims that any conflicting property designations may have stemmed from a simple “clerical error.” The lawsuit does not explicitly deny the underlying allegations of mortgage fraud. Instead, it argues that even if the claims were true, they predate her 2022 confirmation to the Fed and therefore cannot be used as grounds for removal under the Federal Reserve Act. Cook even asserts that Trump’s action violated her statutory rights and the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment.

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Watch this clip from “Fox & Friends” about President Trump accusing Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) of mortgage fraud, just like Lisa Cook.

This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com.

FHFA Director Pulte files second criminal referral against Fed Gov. Lisa Cook over property disclosures

Cook sues the Trump administration for firing her over mortgage fraud allegations

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