Fannie Mae fired more than 100 employees for ethics violations but won’t answer basic questions about their alleged misconduct

Fannie Mae has fired more than 100 employees over alleged ethics violations since homebuilding heir William Pulte became director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) last month, the agency and mortgage firm said in a joint press release on Tuesday.

But after announcing the terminations, FHFA and Fannie Mae wouldn’t answer basic questions about their allegations, including what they involved and who they were against.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bundle mortgages into mortgage-backed securities and sell them to investors. Since the 2008 financial crisis, which stemmed from the expansion of subprime mortgages, both companies have been under an FHFA conservatorship.

Streetlight asked Fannie Mae and FHFA for more information about who was fired, including their job titles, the unethical conduct each person was accused of and if either the company or agency formally investigated the employees and submitted any findings to law enforcement.

Fannie Mae spokesperson Pete Bakel referred Streetlight to the press release, and FHFA didn’t respond.

“In President Trump’s housing market, there is no room for fraud, mortgage fraud or any other deceitful act that can jeopardize the safety and soundness of the housing industry,” Pulte said in the release, adding that the fired workers were “caught engaging in unethical conduct, including facilitating fraud, against our great company. Anyone who commits fraud against Fannie Mae does so against the American people.”

Priscilla Almodovar, who was appointed CEO of Fannie Mae in 2022, said in the press release that Pulte had “empowered” the company “to root out unethical conduct, including anyone facilitating fraud. We hold our employees to the highest standards, and we will continue to do so.”

FHFA and Bakel didn’t answer if Fannie Mae terminated additional employees last week. However, Pulte said Tuesday on X that FHFA had reduced its workforce by more than 25%.

“We’re consolidating divisions to focus on building more homes and strengthening safety and soundness,” Pulte said.

FHFA’s workforce cuts are part of the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DGE) slashing of budgets across the federal government. The effort is in line with the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 policy strategy, which calls for the United States to employ fewer workers, while ending certain contracts and grants to nonprofits, local and state governments.

DGE is led by Elon Musk, who is simultaneously the richest person on earth, a tech entrepreneur, a frequent federal contractor and the overseer of cuts across the United States government. Since beginning his work with DGE this year, Musk’s companies have scored billions of dollars in new government contracts.

Pulte, grandson of the founder of homebuilder PulteGroup, was sworn in as FHFA director on Friday, March 14. The following Monday, he kicked 14 people off the boards for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, then took the chair seats leading both boards.

At the same time, Pulte added to the board Chris Stanley, a security engineer for X, Musk’s social media platform, and SpaceX, the Musk-founded space technology company and government contractor. 

Stanley also works for DGE. Like Musk, Stanley is a special government employee, a type of position that is an advisory, short-term job bound by fewer conflict-of-interest rules than regular federal employment.

Stanley would have received at least $160,000 per year for his Fannie Mae board service, US Securities and Exchange Commission filings show, but he quit a day after his appointment.

Contact Streetlight editor Mollie Bryant at 405-990-0988 or bryant@streetlightnews.org. Follow her reporting on Bluesky or by joining our newsletter.

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