Pulte Says Cook Allegation Part of Wide Mortgage-Fraud Crackdown

(Bloomberg) — Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte suggested Thursday that his referral of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook for alleged mortgage fraud was part of a broader crackdown on the issue.

“We partnered with Palantir at Fannie Mae,” Pulte said on Bloomberg Television. “We said, look, everybody, beware: We are looking for mortgage fraud. We brought in Palantir. We have made tremendous efforts globally, across the population, across the data set, across the data set of loans from Fannie Mae.”

Most Read from Bloomberg

Pulte had urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to open a probe into Cook over a pair of mortgages allegedly claiming primary occupancy in a letter first reported by Bloomberg on Tuesday night. He spent much of the day Wednesday calling on Cook to step down or be removed, with President Donald Trump chiming in that she “must resign, now!!!” in a social media post that morning.

“I have no intention of being bullied to step down from my position because of some questions raised in a tweet,” Cook said Wednesday in an emailed statement via a Fed spokesperson. “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.”

The Justice Department’s Ed Martin told Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that Cook’s case “requires further examination” in a letter Thursday.

Pulte told Bloomberg Television he often makes criminal referrals for mortgage fraud investigations. He said “there was a tip that we received” that led to the Cook referral.

“Sometimes I do multiple per day and certainly multiple per week,” he said.

“And my agency, along with the inspector general in my agency, works hand in hand with the Department of Justice, has done it under the Biden administration, did it under the Obama administration, did it under the first Trump administration,” Pulte added.

“If it’s a Republican who’s committing mortgage fraud, we’re going to look at it. If it’s a Democrat, we’re going to look at it,” he said.

—With assistance from Romaine Bostick and Scarlet Fu.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

©2025 Bloomberg L.P.