Steve Cortes, former Trump campaign spokesman and president of the League of American Workers, has called for an investigation into Durham-based Self-Help Credit Union, which has a reported history of offering subsidized mortgages to illegal immigrants and is linked to North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein.
“This group, which used to employ NC Gov. Josh Stein, has received hundreds of millions in taxpayer funds while lobbying government, has promoted mortgages for illegal aliens, and now is fighting for its share of almost $7 billion in Biden Green New Scam slush money?” Cortes said in a quote provided to the Durham Reporter. “I urge North Carolina’s GOP U.S. Senators and Congressmen to take a closer look at this Leftist grift machine operating in their backyard.”
Cortes was referring to Self-Help Credit Union and its affiliate, Self-Help Ventures Fund, which have drawn scrutiny for their role in nearly $7 billion in climate change funding awarded under the Biden administration’s National Clean Investment Fund (NCIF).
The NCIF is part of the Inflation Reduction Act’s $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. Republican lawmakers have raised concerns about possible favoritism and ethical conflicts involving the NCIF and related programs.
Critics accuse Self-Help and its affiliates of insider dealing and improperly benefiting from the grant process due to close ties with Biden administration officials.
In February 2025, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) froze access to the funds following allegations of fraud and abuse. The agency later attempted to terminate the grants—a move that was temporarily blocked by a judge. The case is currently under appeal.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin criticized the decision to allocate $20 billion to an outside financial institution, including the $7 billion awarded to the Climate United Fund, a coalition that includes the Self-Help Ventures Fund.
“Shockingly, roughly 20 billion of your tax dollars were parked at an outside financial institution by the Biden EPA,” Zeldin said in a February press release. “This scheme was the first of its kind in EPA history, and it was purposefully designed to obligate all of the money in a rush job with reduced oversight.”
Despite the legal and political turmoil, earlier this year, the Self-Help Credit Union advertised for a “Climate Capital Director” to manage its share of the nearly $7 billion NCIF grant.
Self-Help Credit Union and Self-Help Ventures Fund have also been accused of lobbying legislators extensively while promoting mortgage loans to illegal immigrants, raising concerns among conservative leaders about legal and financial risks.
The controversy extends to political figures, including Stein, who took office as governor on Jan. 1. Stein notably began his career at Self-Help Credit Union.
Self-Help has also faced criticism for helping illegal immigrants obtain taxpayer identification numbers and supporting Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and citizenship-related expenses.
These practices have sparked political tensions in North Carolina, where polling shows that nearly 90% of voters oppose illegal immigration and believe it harms the state’s quality of life.
Republican leaders, including Vice President J.D. Vance, have voiced concerns about the financial risks to lenders if illegal immigrant borrowers are deported.
On the national stage during the 2024 campaign, President Donald Trump pledged to ban mortgages for undocumented immigrants to reduce housing demand and lower costs.
Self-Help Ventures Fund is a U.S. Treasury-certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). Along with Self-Help Credit Union, it has received significant federal funding, including $502 million from the Treasury’s CDFI Fund. The funding has raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest involving former Self-Help employees now overseeing federal programs.
The Self-Help organizations have long-standing ties to Democratic political networks.
Martin Eakes, founder of Self-Help Credit Union, Self-Help Ventures Fund and the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), is connected to multiple LLCs and Democrat political donors, including support from philanthropist George Soros.
Eakes has also served on an FDIC advisory committee linked to controversial policies known as “Operation Choke Point 2.0,” a targeted attempt to remove conservatives as customers from financial institutions.
The CRL has been criticized for opposing fintech innovation while lobbying lawmakers, with some arguing that the organization has not fully disclosed how its advocacy benefits Self-Help and its affiliates.
