The Trump Administration has accused Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook of mortgage fraud. Photo / Getty Images
The Trump Administration has accused Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook of mortgage fraud, scrutinising properties she owns in Michigan, Atlanta and Massachusetts.
The White House says the allegations are sufficient legal grounds to fire her for cause, and the Justice Department has expanded its probe through subpoenas and a criminal investigation.
Cook has not been indicted or convicted of any crimes, and she says the allegations are unproven. She is suing to keep her seat on the central bank and is staying put in the meantime.
A court order on Wednesday blocked Trump from firing her, at least temporarily while litigation proceeds.
Her lawyers have denied any fraud, though they previously suggested there might have been a clerical error involved.
Cook’s fight to keep her job, and Trump’s broader attacks on the Fed, will play out in courts and the political sphere.
It will also hinge on what constitutes fraud versus potential paperwork mistakes, and how courts interpret the law that allows a president to fire Fed governors for cause.
Here’s what we know so far about Cook’s real estate - and what we don’t.
The Trump Administration is focused on three properties: a home in Ann Arbor, Michigan, a condo in Atlanta and a condo in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
All three had loans taken out in 2021, according to public records reviewed by the Post.
Cook was confirmed to the Fed board in 2022.
A distinguished economist, she previously held posts at Michigan State University and Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. Cook is originally from Georgia.
In April 2021, Cook took out a 15-year, US$361,000 ($608,770) mortgage on the condo in Cambridge. The lender was Bank-Fund Staff Federal Credit Union, documents reviewed by the Post show.
The documents include a second home rider, a document that specifies how lenders and borrowers expect homes to be used. That information is relevant because second homes typically get higher mortgage rates than primary residences, since they are seen as riskier assets.
In June 2021, Cook took out a US$203,000 loan on a home in Ann Arbor, records show. The 15-year mortgage was issued by the University of Michigan Credit Union. It does not include additional documents like a second home rider.
And in July 2021, Cook took out a 30-year, US$540,000 mortgage on a property in Atlanta. The lender was also Bank-Fund Staff Federal Credit Union. Similarly, the documents do not include a second home rider.
Annual financial disclosures submitted to the US Office of Government Ethics for 2025 include additional information. The disclosure doesn’t specify Cook’s properties by address or city. But they can be identified based on the loan amounts and lender information given.
In the disclosures, the asset that appears to be the Cambridge property includes a mortgage for an investment or rental property with a 2.5% interest rate. The item that appears to be the Atlanta property has a mortgage on a personal residence with a 3.25% rate. And what appears to be the Ann Arbor property also has a mortgage on a personal residence with a 2.875% rate.
All of those rates are roughly in line with, or a bit higher than, average rates at the time.
Interest rates were still low then as the Fed tried to bolster the Covid recovery, before central bankers began sprinting to catch up to rising inflation.
The Trump Administration first accused Cook of committing fraud in 2021 while seeking mortgages on two properties - the ones in Michigan and Atlanta - and describing both during a two-week period as primary residences.
Bill Pulte, the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, alleged that Cook had also described the Atlanta property as a rental, then listed it as a personal residence months later. He provided no evidence except limited screenshots of various documents, including a Zillow listing that did not show Cook’s name.
In late August, Pulte said that although Cook had initially identified the Cambridge property as a second home, she later collected rent on it.
Pulte provided no evidence for that charge other than screenshots that did not include Cook’s name or other identifying information.
Borrowers are generally allowed to rent out second homes if they live there for a few weeks per year or have other agreements with their lenders.
Pulte also alleged that there is “reason to believe” Cook is renting out an Ann Arbor property she designated as a personal residence, without citing specifics.
Trump moved to fire her last week, saying the allegations and subsequent criminal referrals from FHFA to the Justice Department gave him sufficient cause to act. Federal law enforcement officials have opened an investigation.
We don’t know if Cook will be charged with a crime or what the full evidence against her is.
To prove fraud, investigators would have to assess whether someone intentionally lied or omitted information when trying to get a loan.
Public records and financial disclosures alone don’t reveal someone’s intentions, nor do they distinguish fraud from paperwork mistakes that could be harder to obtain a conviction over.
They also may not tell a complete picture.
Borrowers and lenders often make agreements about properties and how they will be used. Those can be documented in letters or other correspondence that aren’t available in public records.
We don’t know if Cook has any such agreements with her lenders.
We also don’t know whether lenders gave her favourable interest rates based on the information she disclosed, though Pulte has suggested they may have.
Cook has yet to respond substantively to the allegations.
After a federal judge temporarily blocked her firing, Cook’s lawyers said she would continue carrying out her duties and that the ruling “recognises and reaffirms the importance of safeguarding the independence of the Federal Reserve from illegal political interference”.
Those lawyers have also denied any fraud, after suggesting in one earlier court filing that there might have been a clerical error in some of the documents.
Most of Cook’s statements and legal arguments have focused on her determination to stay at the Fed.
Cook asked the US District Court in Washington, DC, to issue an injunction to block her dismissal, which her lawsuit framed as “unprecedented and illegal”. The court granted that request.
She also said the allegations of mortgage fraud cited by the White House fall short of the legal standard for cause for removal.
- Andrew Ackerman and Aaron Schaffer contributed to this report.
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