Fannie execs will exit amid mortgage fraud scandal

It’s been a chaotic few weeks in housing finance. Shakeups at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are coming from the top and rolling downhill fast.

At the center is Bill Pulte, the homebuilding heir and newly appointed director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency — and, by his own decree, the chairman of both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Since taking office, Pulte has moved at breakneck speed to clean house and root out what he calls “unethical conduct” and systemic mortgage fraud.

His campaign has already claimed at least 100 Fannie Mae employees, ousted 14 board members and triggered a wave of uncertainty throughout the agencies. This week, he doubled down on his crusade against mortgage fraud by launching a public fraud tipline open to “anyone and everyone.”

Two of Fannie’s seasoned multifamily executives — Rob Levin, head of customer engagement, and Dan Dresser, who oversaw multifamily capital markets and pricing — are also on their way out. Officially, their exits are part of a “normal leadership review,” and it’s unclear exactly what led to the upcoming departure. But both were deeply involved in the multifamily lending division now under intense scrutiny.

Their departures follow Fannie’s $752 million credit loss at the end of 2024, some of it tied to fraud. Internal emails obtained by The Real Deal suggest the true scope of the fraud could be significantly higher.

Much of that risk traces back to a group of real estate investors following a familiar playbook: buy distressed apartment buildings, defer maintenance, flip properties between related entities and inflate the financials to extract larger loans. Eight of these investors were recently placed on Fannie’s internal blacklist.

Some, like Boruch Drillman and Moshe Silber, have already pleaded guilty to federal mortgage fraud charges in unrelated cases. Others, like Brian Gottesman, are now fighting foreclosure on large swaths of Chicago real estate after Fannie and Freddie moved to cut ties. Freddie Mac now owns one of the most troubled properties, Ellis Lakeview, which is still plagued by tenant complaints and code violations despite agency oversight.

Fannie and Freddie back around 70 percent of U.S. mortgages. And Pulte is clearly signaling a “new sheriff in town” era at the FHFA. Whether this crackdown leads to a cleaner system or just more uncertainty remains to be seen.

Outside of the shakeups at Fannie Mae, there was plenty of news this week. Tal Alexander is trying to call the shots in his divorce from prison, Larry Silverstein dropped his $3.7 billion federal funding bid to develop 2 World Trade Center and Holly Parker is suing Douglas Elliman claiming the brokerage demanded $1.6M in clawbacks.

How Tal Alexander is pulling the strings from prison: “The divorce will be a war”

Disgraced luxury broker Tal Alexander is trying to control his divorce from behind bars as he awaits trial on federal sex trafficking charges. Alexander allegedly sent threatening messages to his estranged wife, Arielle, from Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center in an attempt to force her out of their 432 Park Avenue apartment, a court filing claims.

Larry Silverstein dropped $3.7B Fed funding bid for 2 World Trade Center

Larry Silverstein withdrew his application for a $3.7 billion loan to develop 2 World Trade Center from a federal program designed to finance rail infrastructure improvements. Given that Silverstein boasted about the funding strategy less than a year ago, the move could hint at complications securing the low-cost funds.

Holly Parker claims Elliman demanded $1.6M in clawbacks as “punishment”

Holly Parker, a veteran agent who led a top team over a 24-year career at Douglas Elliman, is suing her former brokerage after it demanded $1.6 million in clawbacks. Parker, who joined Compass in February, also alleges she has not been paid her commissions on 16 deals that were under contract at the time she left Elliman.

Summer blockbuster? Caruso leaves door open for political run

Developer Rick Caruso hasn’t ruled out a return to politics, telling Pacific Palisades residents during a community meeting that he’ll decide “sometime after summer” whether to pursue a mayoral run. While speculation swirls about a second run for L.A. mayor — or even a statewide bid — Caruso kept the focus on rebuilding efforts from the devastation of January’s Palisades and Eaton fires.

Portal wars intensify after Zillow’s private listing ban

The listing portal wars are heating up after Zillow’s move to ban private listings that don’t hit the MLS within a certain timeframe. Days after Zillow announced it would ban private listings, a decision aimed at aligning with NAR’s Clear Cooperation Policy, Redfin fell in line.

Brookfield’s $260M CMBS loan in South Florida heads to special servicer

Brookfield Asset Management still hasn’t figured out what to do about a maturing $260 million commercial mortgage-backed securities loan secured by a struggling South Florida mall. And now the Toronto-based global investment firm is a step closer to facing foreclosure on the debt as the CMBS loan has been transferred to a special servicer for maturity default.

Nate Paul dodges prison in federal fraud sentencing

The final chapter of an 18-month investigation of embattled real estate investor Nate Paul came to a soft close in a downtown courthouse this week. Paul was sentenced to four months of home confinement, five years of supervised release and a $1 million fine — marking the close of a high-profile fraud case that unraveled what was once one of Austin’s most aggressive real estate empires.

Ken Griffin takes loss with $16M sale of two floors at No. 9 Walton

Ken Griffin’s losses on luxury Chicago real estate expanded to almost $30 million with sales of the final two floors out of the four he assembled within the No. 9 West Walton Street condo tower. The billionaire Citadel founder sold the 35th and 36th floors of the building this week for $15.9 million, down from the more than $24.6 million he paid for the unfinished units as part of a package he bought in 2017 for $58.75 million.