Ann Arbor public schools need money, but Lisa Cook apparently needs it more.
Cook, our vagabond governor of the Federal Reserve, has a lot of houses, a lot of excuses, and a full-blown federal fraud investigation.
And now, with new tax records we have unearthed, things may have just gotten a whole lot worse for Madam Governor.
The Backdrop
Somehow Cook can afford three houses: one in Cambridge, Mass., one in Atlanta, and a third in Ann Arbor. When filing the financial paperwork back in 2021, Cook claimed she lived in all three, which is impossible.
The Trump administration alleged Cook cheated on those mortgages to get favorable loan terms. That would be fraud.
The News
When all is said and done, however, it may be the Ann Arbor house that will be her undoing.
Cook listed the 100-year-old house as her permanent home, allowing her to to claim a primary residence exemption (PRE), which lowers her tax bill by thousands of dollars a year. That money would otherwise go to educate Ann Arbor’s public school children.
Here’s the problem. Cook also registered the house this past April as a certified rental property with the city of Ann Arbor. The house is currently listed on Apartments.com for $2,750 a month. A knock at the door last week revealed a man behind a chained door who said that he was a renter.
Cook doesn’t live there with him. So that means she might be committing PRE fraud in Michigan, which carries a maximum fine of $5,000 and five years in prison.
Gov. Cook’s office is located in the Eccles Building on Constitution Avenue in Washington, D.C.
That means her one-way commute from Ann Arbor would be 521 miles—an 8 hour and 15 minute drive.
More likely, Cook lives in D.C. A public records search shows one Lisa D. Cook, 61, living in a luxury apartment building for the past three years. It’s along the Potomac River and is within walking distance to the Federal Reserve. The apartment building boasts expansive views and a roof-top pool. A basic one-bedroom, 700-square foot apartment starts at $5,000 a month.
The Fallout
Cook has made a lot of excuses since her three-card-mortgage-monty was revealed. First she claimed it was a clerical error. Then she claimed she revealed connivance on disclosure papers during her confirmation process. Then she claimed the mortgage scam is irrelevant because she committed the fraud before she began working for the federal government.
The whole thing is as embarrassing as it is outrageous. A governor of our central bank is a grifter. A prevaricator. A tax cheat. Ann Arbor public schools—funded by property taxes—have fallen on hard times. Teachers have been laid off and programs have been cut.
Gov. Cook needs to fess up, pay up, pack her bags up, and shut the f— up.
Charlie LeDuff is a reporter educated in public schools. Follow him on X @Charlieleduff.
