President Donald Trump’s administration has accused several political opponents of mortgage fraud for listing more than one home as their primary residence. But mortgage records show Trump did the same thing more than 30 years ago in Palm Beach, Florida.
In December 1993, Trump signed a mortgage for a home on Woodbridge Road, promising it would be his main residence. Seven weeks later, he signed another mortgage for a second home next door, again promising it would be his main residence.
Trump does not appear to have lived in either home. According to ProPublica, Records and interviews show both properties were rented out as investment homes, the same kind of situation his administration has pointed to as proof of fraud in other cases.
Trump’s real estate agent says the homes were rented out from the start
Shirley Wyner, whose late husband was Trump’s real estate agent at the time, told ProPublica that both homes were rented out from the beginning. “They were rentals from the beginning,” Wyner said. She added, “President Trump never lived there.”
News clippings from the time show both homes listed for lease. One larger home, with seven bedrooms and seven bathrooms, was advertised for $3,000 per day. The smaller home, described as a “Bermuda style” house, was listed for $45,000 per month.
Legal experts who reviewed the mortgage documents for ProPublica said having two primary-residence mortgages at the same time is not always illegal and is rarely prosecuted. But they said Trump’s case goes beyond the standard his own administration has used to accuse others of fraud.
Kathleen Engel, a law professor at Suffolk University who studies mortgage finance, commented on the matter. “Given Trump’s position on situations like this, he’s going to either need to fire himself or refer himself to the Department of Justice,” Engel said. She added, “Trump has deemed that this type of misrepresentation is sufficient to preclude someone from serving the country.”
Mortgages for a primary home usually come with better terms, such as lower interest rates, than mortgages for second homes or rental properties. Experts said having two primary-residence mortgages can sometimes happen for legitimate reasons, like a job move, or because of a paperwork mistake.
They said proving fraud depends on showing the borrower intended to deceive the lender. Both of Trump’s Florida mortgages came from the same lender, Merrill Lynch.
The White House addressed this point when asked about the mortgages. A White House spokesperson said, “President Trump’s two mortgages you are referencing are from the same lender. There was no defraudation. It is illogical to believe that the same lender would agree to defraud itself.”
The spokesperson also said, “this is yet another desperate attempt by the Left wing media to disparage President Trump with false allegations,” and added, “President Trump has never, or will ever, break the law.”
This is not the first time records have contradicted a claim made by the president; budget documents recently showed a White House walkway project cost taxpayers money despite Trump saying he paid for it himself.
Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, has led efforts this year to investigate primary-residence mortgage claims by Trump’s political opponents. Pulte said earlier this year, “If somebody is claiming two primary residences, that is not appropriate, and we will refer it for criminal investigation.”
Records from the time list Trump’s address as Trump Tower in Manhattan, not either of the Florida homes. He officially changed his permanent residence to Florida in 2019.
Trump has made similar accusations against Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. In a letter to Cook, Trump pointed out that she signed two primary-residence mortgages within weeks of each other, for properties in Michigan and Georgia.
He wrote that her conduct raised concerns about “the sort of gross negligence in financial transactions that calls into question your competence and trustworthiness.” Cook has denied wrongdoing and is suing to block her termination from the Fed board.
New York Attorney General Letitia James faces similar accusations. Federal prosecutors charged her in October over a mortgage on a Virginia home, claiming she said it would be a second home while actually renting it out as an investment property. James has denied the allegations, and the case was dismissed last month over procedural issues, though the Justice Department has been trying to reindict her.
The Trump administration has made similar accusations against Democratic lawmakers Sen. Adam Schiff and Rep. Eric Swalwell, both of whom have denied wrongdoing. In September, ProPublica also reported that three members of Trump’s Cabinet listed multiple homes as their primary residence on mortgage documents, and Bloomberg reported that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent did something similar.
All of the Cabinet members have denied wrongdoing. Separately, financial disclosure records have also raised questions about Trump’s own conduct, after reports showed he was buying stock in a defense contractor shortly before publicly promoting it.
Trump’s Florida mortgages are outside the legal time limit for prosecuting mortgage fraud, since the loans were signed more than three decades ago and have since been paid off.
Published: Aug 11, 2026 11:30 am