Michael McCarthy

Michael McCarthy is Fannie Mae’s General Counsel, leading the Legal organization and reporting to the Acting Chief Executive Officer. He joined the company in 2025 and serves as a member of the Management Committee.

Before joining the company, McCarthy served with distinction at the Department of Justice in the Fraud Section and at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia. He has also served in the U.S. Navy for more than 22 years as an Information Warfare Officer and a JAG, and is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom. While at the Justice Department for nearly a decade, he led dozens of high-profile, domestic, and international criminal investigations into individual and corporate fraud, government procurement fraud, corruption, and other complex financial crimes.

Prior to joining the Justice Department, McCarthy was in private practice at an international law firm and worked at a major defense contractor.

He received his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center and his bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame.