The ongoing attempts by President Donald Trump to remove Lisa Cook from her position on the Federal Reserve board, following allegations of mortgage fraud, raises a concerning query for homeowners: How accessible is your mortgage information, and could it potentially be used against you [1]?
Allegations from the Trump administration assert that Cook committed mortgage fraud by claiming both of her residences as primary homes in order to benefit from lower mortgage rates typically offered for primary residences [2]. As reported by the New York Times, Cook’s legal team has described the threats of termination as “unprecedented and illegal.”
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In addition, Trump has leveled accusations of mortgage fraud against New York Attorney General Letitia James and California Senator Adam Schiff, whom he regards as adversaries, resulting in increased scrutiny of their property documents.
Even if you are not a public figure, it is wise to familiarize yourself with what constitutes mortgage fraud, potential pitfalls, and the extent to which your mortgage details can be examined.
Mortgage fraud involves a borrower misrepresenting the details provided during the mortgage application process.
This could manifest in various ways, such as inflating income, minimization of debts, failure to disclose outstanding personal loans, or falsely claiming a property as a primary residence to secure better mortgage conditions.
But how prevalent is this issue?
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In the last 12 years, under 3,000 individuals in the U.S. have faced federal prosecution for mortgage fraud, with only 38 convictions recorded in 2024 and 34 in 2023, according to data from the U.S. Sentencing Commission—an insignificant figure compared to the 100 million mortgage loans issued in that timeframe [3].
Though the conviction rates remain modest, the actual incidence of fraud may be considerably higher. Annually, the global firm Cotality conducts a review of U.S. mortgage applications to gauge fraud risk. This year, they identified a 7.3% year-on-year rise in the risk of mortgage fraud [4].
Matt Seguin from Cotality’s Fraud Solutions division noted that the current market conditions are “ripe” for an uptick in mortgage fraud, driven by high-interest rates and challenges surrounding housing affordability.
