Troubles have followed former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. After the Donald Trump administration fired her last month over reckless ICE leadership and rumors of an extramarital affair with colleague Corey Lewandowski, she is back in the spotlight—this time joined by husband Bryon Noem.
New financial disclosures reveal uncomfortable truths: The couple took out millions in loans during the period when Bryon allegedly funded a secret life involving adult performers.
Federal filings submitted when Kristi became Secretary of Homeland Security show the couple carried $2.65 million to $3.35 million in debt accumulated from 2020 to 2022. The figures, first reported by the Daily Mail, paint a picture of heavy borrowing that now raises fresh questions amid parallel spending allegations against Bryon.
The debts started modestly, with the couple jointly securing a 15-year home mortgage valued between $100,000 and $250,000 at 1.875% interest in 2020—their only shared liability in the filings. From there, debts grew and became largely Bryon’s. In 2021, he took out a business loan between $250,000 and $500,000 at 3.95%, a separate 10-year business loan exceeding $1 million, and a third from Dacotah Bank between $250,000 and $500,000 at 4.15%.
The biggest single obligation came in 2022: a commercial mortgage loan of at least $1 million from Reliabank, secured against commercial property, plus another business loan exceeding $1 million at 4.59%. Five of the six identified loans are tied to Bryon’s insurance and car wash business.
The filings do not depict a financially struggling household. Bryon reportedly earned about $1.135 million in salary and LLC distributions from Noem Insurance. The couple also listed rental income from commercial property in Bryant and pasture land in Castlewood, each generating $15,000 to $50,000. Kristi earned $241,519 as South Dakota governor before leaving office in 2025, plus a $40,000 advance for her first book and $139,750 for her second.
The debt picture grew murkier against allegations from multiple women about Bryon’s private activities, The Independent reports. Adult performer Nicole Raccagno, known online as “PlasticBarbie2000,” claimed Bryon sent her more than $30,000 starting in January 2023 for luxury items including designer shoes, diamond jewelry and a Louis Vuitton handbag. He also paid for her cosmetic surgeries, she said: “He gave me whatever I wanted.”
Raccagno alleged a $1,500 monthly retainer for explicit content, plus claims he wanted to be her “slave” and even marry her. Another woman produced records of about $25,000 in transfers from Bryon-linked accounts, while at least two more reported receiving payments over several years.
OnlyFans model Shy Sotomayor said she charged Bryon $15 per minute for calls over nine years—even after realizing his identity. “I felt he was very hypocritical for standing firm on American family values while messaging about wanting to be a trans bimbo,” she said. Notably, some payments went through Dacotah Bank, which issued one of the couple’s business loans.
As this information has surfaced, former CIA officer Marc Polymeropoulos warned of risks: “If a media organization can find this out, you can assume with high confidence that a hostile intelligence service knows this as well.” He added, “If someone is financially vulnerable, a hostile intelligence service could approach them that way.”
Former Soviet spy turned U.S. intelligence asset Jack Barsky called the behavior “astounding” for someone close to a senior government official. The Daily Beast’s Joanna Coles said: “It has much bigger ramifications because it shows the government, certainly the FBI with Kash Patel, not doing its job.” A spokesperson for Kristi said she was “devastated” and that the family had been “blindsided.”
With these financial and personal allegations, more developments in Kristi and Bryon Noem’s lives are expected.