Why US giant Fannie Mae has fired 200 Indian-American employees, mostly Telugus

American mortgage firm Fannie Mae has reportedly laid off around 700 employees, many of whom are said to be of Telugu origin.

Out of the total 700, about 200 were dismissed over what the company has described as ‘ethical reasons’, while the rest lost their jobs as part of a company reshuffle.

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After the job cuts, Indian-American Congressman Suhas Subramanyam has reached out to Fannie Mae, asking them to explain the move.

So, why were they fired from the company?

We take a look at the reasons behind the layoffs at Fannie Mae and what Suhas Subramanyam had to say about the situation.

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Why Fannie Mae fired around 200 Indian American employees

Fannie Mae reportedly let go of 200 Indian Americans over alleged misuse of the company’s matching grants programme.

These employees, many of Telugu background, were dismissed for what the company described as “ethical grounds” involving financial misconduct.

According to a report by The Times of India, the issue centres on claims that some workers teamed up with non-profit groups such as the Telugu Association of North America (TANA) and misused company money through the matching grants scheme.

The matching grants programme is a benefit offered by the company that adds to employee donations towards charity. It is meant to encourage and support staff contributions to approved causes.

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Fannie Mae, officially known as the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), is a government-sponsored financial enterprise in the US. Reports suggest that most of the 200 employees accused of wrongdoing in this case are of Telugu origin.

TOI also reported that one of those let go held a regional vice-president role at TANA, while another was married to a former president of the American Telugu Association (ATA).

On April 8, 2025, Fannie Mae confirmed that over 100 people were dismissed for unethical behaviour, including helping to carry out fraud.

“I would like to thank Director Pulte for his empowering of Fannie Mae to root out unethical conduct, including anyone facilitating fraud. We hold our employees to the highest standards, and we will continue to do so,” Priscilla Almodovar, President and CEO of Fannie Mae, said in a statement quoted by Mint.

Sources told TOI that TANA was not the only non-profit organisation involved, and that other groups were also being looked into.

Most of those fired are Indian Americans based in Northern Virginia. According to The American Bazaar, a statement from Congressman Suhas Subramanyam’s office said these former employees denied any wrongdoing and claimed Fannie Mae carried out no proper investigation into the allegations.

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What Subramanyam said on the firings

Congressman Subramanyam raised concerns over how Fannie Mae handled the dismissals, saying the company may not have properly looked into the claims of fraud.

He questioned whether simply being part of the Indian American community or donating to Indian American groups was used as the only reason for firing these employees.

“It has been brought to my attention that Fannie Mae has accused hundreds of my constituents in the Indian-American community of fraudulent behaviour and fired them without conducting a full investigation or providing evidence,” he said.

“I have spoken with many of these employees in our community, and they deserve due process. Fannie Mae owes them, Congress, and the American people an explanation immediately.”

In his letter, Subramanyam pointed out that many of those dismissed had years of experience and strong performance records at Fannie Mae. He also noted that most of them were Indian Americans and were let go without any warning.

Some of the affected employees have said they never donated to the groups in question, the report said.

TANA-linked firings at Apple

In December 2024, a court in the Northern District of California issued a subpoena to the Telugu Association of North America, asking the group to appear before a grand jury.

The order required the organisation to share records of donations received, how the money was spent, and information about its office bearers between 2019 and 2024.

Meanwhile, similar claims emerged involving employees at tech firm Apple this year. The company reportedly let go of over 100 staff members, including nearly 50 based at its Cupertino headquarters, after uncovering a fraud that inflated employee earnings.

Under Apple’s ‘Matching Gifts Programme’, the company supports staff donations by matching their contributions to approved charities. For every amount an employee donates to a qualifying organisation, Apple contributes an equal sum.

The fraud involved staff members pretending to make donations, which were later returned to them. While the employees received their money back, Apple’s matching contributions were kept, and the false donations were then written off on tax returns, resulting in financial loss for the state of California.

Officials in the Bay Area issued arrest warrants for six former Apple employees. None of them were Indian, though reports suggested that several Indian employees had also been linked to the misuse of Telugu community charities in the US.

“By exploiting Apple’s employee gift-matching programme, the defendants extracted approximately $152,000 from Apple’s programme and overreported around $100,000 in charitable contributions as tax deductions,” the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement.