Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook will continue her legal fight challenging her removal from the central bank, following a Supreme Court ruling. The case has drawn attention to three mortgages Cook obtained before her nomination, with allegations that she misrepresented how the properties in Michigan, Georgia, and Massachusetts would be used on the loan documents.
President Donald Trump had sought to remove Cook from the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, citing concerns over the mortgage applications. Cook, in turn, filed a lawsuit arguing that the attempt to oust her was unlawful and threatened the independence of the Federal Reserve.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reportedly opened a criminal investigation into allegations of mortgage application fraud. The allegations originated from Bill Pulte, a former Trump appointee, who referred the matter to the Justice Department. The mortgages in question were issued in 2021, prior to Cook's nomination by President Joe Biden.
At the heart of the allegations are the preferential terms associated with primary-residence loans, which are typically viewed by lenders as lower risk compared to mortgages for vacation homes or investment properties. Cook disclosed all three mortgages on a financial filing with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics in June 2025.
Financial disclosures indicated that Cook earned more than $50,000 annually in rental income from a condominium in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Pulte alleged that Cook listed this condominium as a second home, despite reporting rental income from it. Cook purchased the condo in 2002 while she was a professor at Harvard University and secured a 15-year loan for $361,000 at a 2.5% interest rate in April 2021.
In May 2021, Cook obtained a mortgage for a three-bedroom home in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This 15-year loan for $203,000 at a 2.87% rate was through the University of Michigan Credit Union. At the time, Cook was teaching economics and international relations at Michigan State University.
Additionally, Cook secured a $540,000, 30-year mortgage at a 3.25% interest rate for a condominium in Atlanta, Georgia. According to Pulte's referral letter to the Justice Department, this loan agreement included an affirmation that the property would serve as her primary residence for at least one year.
Cook has not publicly offered an explanation for why both the Michigan and Georgia properties were designated as her primary residence. Her attorney, Abbe Lowell, has denied the allegations, stating that Cook "did not ever commit mortgage fraud."