Justice Department official Ed Martin on Thursday asked Fed Chair Jerome Powell to remove embattled Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook from her post amid allegations of mortgage fraud.
Special Prosecutor Ed Martin in a letter to Jerome Powell encouraged him to remove Lisa Cook from her position amid allegations of mortgage and banking fraud.
“It is a very troubling public interaction relating to her, I think you will agree,” Martin wrote in a letter obtained by CNBC.
“At this time, I encourage you to remove Ms. Cook from your Board,” he wrote. “Do it today before it is too late! After all, no American thinks it is appropriate that she serve during this time with a cloud hanging over her,” Martin wrote.
Martin added, “As we begin any investigation of the conduct like that by Ms. Cook in the referral, I will likely be required for confidentiality purposes to remain silent about our investigations.”
“However, I will answer any questions you have to help you make a timely decision to remove her,” he said.
According to housing regulator Bill Pulte’s criminal referral, Lisa Cook committed mortgage fraud by lying on her mortgage application and falsifying bank statements when she designated her out-of-state Atlanta condo as her “primary residence”—just two weeks after taking a loan on her Michigan home, which she also claimed as her “primary residence.”
By claiming “primary residence” on her out-of-state condo, Lisa Cook received more favorable loan terms and a lower interest rate.
On June 18, 2021, Cook acquired a loan on a property in Ann Arbor, Michigan. On the mortgage agreement, Cook represented to “use the Property as Borrower’s principal residence within 60 days after the execution of her agreement, Pulte said.
On July 2, 2021, just two weeks later, Lisa Cook also purchased a condo in Atlanta and entered a 30-year mortgage agreement and affirmed the property would serve as her primary residence within 60 days of the execution of the mortgage and would serve as her primary residence for a full year, Pulte’s referral said.
According to Pulte, while Cook affirmed her Atlanta property would serve as her primary residence, online records indicate that the property was listed for rent in September 2022.
“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 in his criminal referral.
U.S. Federal Housing FHFA, alleges in a Criminal Referral to the Department of Justice that Federal Reserve Governor, Lisa D. Cook, committed mortgage fraud by designating her out of state condo as her primary residence, just two weeks after taking a loan on her Michigan home… pic.twitter.com/3hlknQ4yzF
— Pulte (@pulte) August 20, 2025
Lisa Cook remained defiant on Wednesday and said she will not be bullied into resigning.
“I learned from the media that FHFA Director William Pulte posted on social media that he was making a criminal referral based on a mortgage application from four years ago, before I joined the Federal Reserve,” Lisa Cook said in a statement.
“I have no intention of being bullied to step down from my position because of some questions raised in a tweet,” she said. “I do intend to take any questions about my financial history seriously as a member of the Federal Reserve and so I am gathering the accurate information to answer any legitimate questions and provide the facts.”
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