By Chris Prentice and Marisa Taylor
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A loan estimate for an Atlanta home purchased by Lisa Cook, the Federal Reserve governor accused of mortgage fraud by the Trump administration, shows that Cook had declared the property as a “vacation home,” according to a document reviewed by Reuters.
The document, dated May 28, 2021, was issued to Cook by her credit union in the weeks before she completed the purchase and shows that she had told the lender that the Atlanta property wouldn’t be her primary residence. The document appears to counter other documentation that Cook’s critics have cited in support of their claims that she committed mortgage fraud by reporting two different homes as her primary residence, two independent real-estate experts said.
Reuters was unable to reach Cook for comment. She has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing regarding her properties, which also include a home in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and an investment property in Massachusetts.
Administration officials led by Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, have used mortgage documents from her Atlanta and Michigan properties to accuse Cook of claiming both as her “primary residence.” The allegedly false claims of residence, which could improve mortgage and tax implications for a homeowner, led Pulte to refer the matter to the Department of Justice, prompting a federal investigation and an order by President Donald Trump to dismiss her.
Cook, who remains at the Federal Reserve, has sued the president to resist her dismissal. Reuters was unable to determine whether Pulte or administration officials are aware of Cook’s Atlanta loan estimate. Spokespeople at the FHFA, the agency led by Pulte, didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The documents cited by Pulte include standardized federal mortgage paperwork which stipulates that each loan obtained by Cook for the Atlanta and Michigan properties is meant for a “primary residence.” But documentation reviewed by Reuters for the Atlanta home, filed with a court in Georgia’s Fulton County, clearly says the stipulation exists “unless Lender otherwise agrees in writing.” The loan estimate, a document prepared by the credit union, states “Property Use: Vacation Home.”
The document appears to help Cook’s case, said two real-estate experts who aren’t involved in representing her. That’s because it indicates that during the loan-application process, she told the lender she intended to use the property as a vacation home.
The lender, Washington-based Bank-Fund Staff Federal Credit Union, didn’t respond to a request for comment.
In another point that could help Cook’s case, she never requested a tax exemption for the Georgia home as a primary residence, according to property records and a Fulton County tax official.
A separate document reviewed by Reuters, related to a federal form completed by Cook as she obtained security clearance for her role at the Federal Reserve, shows that in December 2021 she also declared the Atlanta property as a “2nd home.” Though unrelated to the mortgage, the declaration on that document, a supplement to a U.S. government national security form known as SF-86, is consistent with the claim on her Atlanta loan summary.
Surrounding the accusations against Cook is a battle over Trump’s effort to wield more control over the Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States and an independent institution meant to be free of political meddling. Trump has often criticized Fed governors because of their reluctance to cut interest rates since he returned to the White House earlier this year.
Amid the controversy, the personal finances of other government officials and their families have also come into question by rival politicians, the media and others.
Last week, Reuters reported that Pulte’s own father and stepmother had declared two homes in two different states as their primary residence, prompting a town in Michigan to remove a tax exemption for their home there and charge the couple for back taxes. Pulte and his parents didn’t respond to requests for comment about the matter.
(Editing by Paulo Prada.)
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