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Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte issued a second criminal referral against Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook on Thursday — the same day Cook filed suit against President Donald Trump for attempting to fire her over mortgage fraud allegations.
The second referral centers on a mortgage for a Cambridge, Massachusetts, condominium. Pulte alleges that Cook obtained a $361,000, 15-year loan in April 2021 by declaring the property a second home, but she later disclosed rental income from it, suggesting it was used as an investment property.
It follows an earlier referral tied to Cook’s 2021 purchase of homes in Michigan and Georgia. In both cases, Pulte alleges Cook misrepresented occupancy status to secure lower interest rates and down payments, since investment properties typically carry higher costs.
Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have yet to file charges.
Cook’s attorney, Abbe D. Lowell of Lowell & Associates, issued a statement to HousingWire.
“This is an obvious smear campaign aimed at discrediting Gov. Cook by a political operative who has taken to social media more than 30 times in the last two days and demanded her removal before any review of the facts or evidence,” the statement read.
“Nothing in these vague, unsubstantiated allegations has any relevance to Gov. Cook’s role at the Federal Reserve, and they in no way justify her removal from the Board.”
Cook’s December 2021 and subsequent federal ethics forms reported $15,000 to $50,000 in rental income from the Cambridge 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 wrote in a social media post.
Pulte also claims that Cook, while serving as a Fed governor, continued to misrepresent her Atlanta property as a primary residence while it was rented out. And he questions whether an Ann Arbor, Michigan, home she declared as her personal residence in 2025 was also used for rental purposes.
His referral letter added: “While the previously referred misconduct by Ms. Cook necessitates review to determine whether various criminal statutes have been violated, U.S. Federal Housing believes that even further scrutiny is required given the conflicting nature of Mr. Cook’s financial disclosures.”
Cook, a Biden-era appointee and the first Black woman on the Fed board, announced her plans earlier this week to sue Trump for attempting to fire her.
In the case, filed on Thursday, Cook’s attorney asks the court to void Trump’s removal order, affirm her status as a Fed governor and rule that the fraud allegations don’t meet the legal standard of “cause,” defined as serious misconduct or neglect of duty.
In a statement given to CNN on Monday night, Cook said: “President Trump purported to fire me ‘for cause’ when no cause exists under the law, and he has no authority to do so. I will not resign. I will continue to carry out my duties to help the American economy as I have been doing since 2022.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with a statement from Cook’s attorney.
