(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Embattled Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., may soon find himself under Justice Department scrutiny after a top housing official referred him for investigation.
Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte referred Swalwell for a criminal investigation over allegations of mortgage and tax fraud tied to his Washington, D.C., home.
NBC News first reported the referral on Thursday, which makes Swalwell the fourth Democrat to face such scrutiny.
As reported by the outlet, Pulte wrote to Attorney General Pam Bondi, pointing to several million dollars’ worth of loans and refinancing tied to Swalwell falsely declaring his primary residence as Washington.
Federal law criminalizes falsely declaring a secondary home as a primary residence. Doing so allows borrowers to unlawfully secure lower interest rates, since secondary and rental properties typically carry higher rates.
Pulte called for federal investigations into possible mortgage fraud, state and local tax fraud, as well as insurance fraud investigations.
In response, Swalwell sarcastically suggested he was only surprised the federal probe hadn’t been opened sooner.
“As the most vocal critic of Donald Trump over the last decade and as the only person who still has a surviving lawsuit against him, the only thing I am surprised about is that it took him this long to come after me,” he said in a statement to NBC News.
Swalwell joins a growing list of political figures under federal scrutiny over similar allegations.
A federal grand jury in Virginia indicted New York Attorney General Letitia James on mortgage fraud charges after she allegedly listed a rental property in the Old Dominion state as her secondary home.
Pulte also referred Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook over similar allegations.
