Fannie Mae, FHFA's Pulte sued for alleged defamation tied to firings - report

[Fannie Mae To Pay Some $400 Million In Fines To SEC]
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Forty-one ex-Fannie Mae (OTCQB:FNMA [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/FNMA]) staffers have taken the mortgage titan, its CEO and Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte, accusing them of defamation linked to April terminations, according to a media report published Thursday.

The former employees are seeking over $2M apiece in damages, Bloomberg reported, citing complaints filed in Fairfax County Circuit Court in Virginia that were distributed by their attorneys.

The FHFA said April 8 that 100 Fannie Mae (OTCQB:FNMA [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/FNMA]) workers were fired [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4429500-fannie-mae-fires-over-100-employees-for-misconduct] for "engaging in unethical conduct, including facilitating fraud."

The firings were said to have been tied to suspected abuse of a Fannie (OTCQB:FNMA [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/FNMA]) program that matches staff donations to charities up to $5K per year.

The 41 former employees suing Fannie (OTCQB:FNMA [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/FNMA]) and Pulte were abruptly dismissed over phone and email and have yet to see any proof of the misconduct they were accused of, despite repeatedly asking for it, the lawsuit said [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-08-13/fannie-mae-former-employees-sue-company-pulte-for-defamation], Bloomberg reported.

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