As the Trump appointee of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Bill Pulte, targets select Democratic adversaries of the president with mortgage fraud investigations, new details are emerging about the alleged mortgage fraud involving Pulte’s own family members.
On Sept. 8, House Judiciary Committee ranking member Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) opened an investigation into Pulte, citing concerns that the Federal Housing Finance Agency chief is using his position to go after select political opponents of Trump, Axios reports.
“Your decision to use the FHFA to selectively—and publicly—investigate and target the President’s designated political enemies gives rise to the unmistakable impression that you have been improperly coordinating with the White House to launch these probes,” Raskin wrote in a letter to Pulte.
House Democrats say Pulte’s recent probes into alleged mortgage fraud involving Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), New York Attorney General Letitia James, and Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook “suggest that your overarching purpose is to punish and smear critics of President Trump.” However, the announcement of these investigations comes as new details emerge about alleged mortgage fraud linked to Mark and Julie Pulte, Bill Pulte’s father and stepmother.
Public records show that since 2020, Pulte’s father and stepmother have claimed so-called “homestead exemptions” for homes in affluent neighborhoods in Michigan and Florida. These exemptions are intended to reduce property taxes for a homeowner’s primary residence.
However, local tax officials in both states say it’s generally not allowed to claim more than one primary residence, and doing so could result in fines or back taxes. After the alleged mortgage fraud was brought to the attention of officials in Bloomfield Township, Michigan, Darrin Kraatz, director of assessing, said the township “as of today” would revoke the exemption on the Pultes’ residence there.
Further fueling the fraud allegations, public real estate records and a local resident confirmed that the Pultes rented out their Michigan home this year, a move that also violates homestead exemption rules.
“Revised tax bills will be issued to the Pultes, including all applicable penalty and interest,” Kraatz said.
The investigation into Pulte’s parents comes as the FHFA chief recently made headlines for a criminal referral against Cook last month, which Trump used in his attempt to remove her and pressure the U.S. central bank to cut interest rates. Pulte accused Cook of listing both a Michigan home and an Atlanta condo as her primary residences on mortgage documents, though Cook denies any wrongdoing.
He has made similar claims against Schiff and James, who previously led impeachment proceedings and a lawsuit against Trump. Now, House Dems are demanding that Pulte “produce all records related to these selective investigations,” as well as any investigations into “other Democratic congressional members or state elected officials.”
Raskin is also examining the FHFA’s reported partnership with data analytics firm Palantir, which uses artificial intelligence to detect mortgage fraud. While Democrats have limited investigative power as the minority in Congress, Raskin’s probe teases what’s to come should the party regain control of the House next year.
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