The Department of Justice has launched a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook over allegations of mortgage fraud, officials confirmed Thursday, as reported by The Gateway Pundit.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Ed Martin, who leads the DOJ’s “Weaponization” unit, is coordinating the probe. Investigators have already issued subpoenas seeking records to determine whether Cook fraudulently obtained property loans.
The inquiry focuses on three properties tied to Cook. Federal Housing Director Bill Pulte made the first referral to the DOJ, alleging that Cook committed occupancy fraud and falsified bank statements.
Records show that Cook designated her Atlanta, Georgia, condominium as her “primary residence” just two weeks after taking out a loan on her Ann Arbor, Michigan, home, which she also claimed as her “primary residence.”
Video evidence obtained by investigators appeared to show that the Ann Arbor property was not Cook’s primary residence but a rental property. A tenant confirmed, “We’re just renting,” according to The Gateway Pundit.
Pulte filed a second referral last week involving Cook’s condominium in Cambridge, Massachusetts. That property, he said, had been “consistently listed” as an investment or rental property, not a second home.
Mortgage terms differ depending on classification: loans for investment properties generally carry higher interest rates due to increased risk, while loans for second homes receive more favorable terms.
The DOJ’s investigation comes as Cook is also pursuing a lawsuit over her removal from the Federal Reserve Board. Last month, President Donald Trump formally terminated Cook’s appointment, citing his constitutional authority.
“Pursuant to my authority under Article II of the Constitution of the United States and the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, as amended, you are hereby removed from your position on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, effective immediately,” Trump wrote in a letter to Cook.
Cook’s lawsuit does not address the mortgage fraud allegations but emphasizes that she was “the first Black woman to sit on the Federal Reserve’s Board in its 111-year history.”
The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb, an appointee of former President Joe Biden. Judge Cobb, like Cook, is a member of Delta Sigma Theta, a sorority that has publicly criticized Trump’s decision to remove her.
The President has called for Cobb to recuse herself from the case due to the connection.
The Justice Department has not provided a timeline for the investigation, and no charges have been filed. The case remains ongoing.
