U.S. Rep. George Santos has been charged on 13 counts including fraud, money laundering and theft of public funds by federal prosecutors.
According to the indictment, Santos deceived supporters into giving to a business under the idea that the funds would be utilized to further his campaign. He allegedly used money instead to pay for personal costs like fancy clothing purchases, credit card balances, and auto loans.
Santos is also charged with filing false financial information on congressional disclosure forms, seeking for unemployment benefits while working as the regional director of an investment company that the government closed down in 2021 over claims that it was a Ponzi scheme, and getting benefits while doing so.
Santos, 34, won a seat in Congress last November following a campaign that included some fabrications. He claimed he was, among other things, a successful Wall Street dealmaker with a sizable real estate portfolio who had been a standout volleyball player in college.
Actually, Santos did not attend college, did not have much money before running for public office, and he did not work at the major financial institutions he claimed to have been hired by. He claimed that the majority of his income came from his own efforts, which he said came from arranging sales of pricey toys for wealthy clientele, but the indictment claims that such boasts were also overstated.
In a financial disclosure form, Santos claimed to receive $750,000 annually from a family business called the Devolder Organization; however, the charges that were unsealed on Wednesday claim that Santos never received either of those amounts, along with the $1 million and $5 million in dividends he claimed to have gotten from the company.
Santos identified the Devolder Organization as a middleman for the sale of opulent goods like yachts and planes. Santos quit working as a salesman for Harbor City Capital, the company that is being charged by federal authorities with running an illegal Ponzi scheme, shortly after the organization was formed in Florida.
In November 2021, Santos formed Redstone Strategies, a Florida company that federal prosecutors say he used to dupe donors into financing his lifestyle. The indictment stated that Santos told an associate to solicit contributions to the company via emails, text message and phone calls and provided the person with contact information for potential contributors.
Emails to prospective donors falsely claimed that the company was formed “exclusively” to aid Santos’ election bid and that there would be no limits on how much they could contribute, the indictment said. Santos falsely claimed that the money would be spent on television ads and other campaign expenses, it said.
Last October, a month before his election, Santos transferred about $74,000 from company coffers to bank accounts he maintained, the indictment said. He also transferred money to some of his associates, it said.
Indictment Aimed At Holding Santos Accountable
U.S. Attorney Breon Peace declared that the indictment “seeks to hold Santos accountable for various alleged fraudulent schemes and brazen misrepresentations.”
“Taken together, the allegations in the indictment charge Santos with relying on repeated dishonesty and deception to ascend to the halls of Congress and enrich himself.
“He used political contributions to line his pockets, unlawfully applied for unemployment benefits that should have gone to New Yorkers who had lost their jobs due to the pandemic and lied to the House of Representatives.”
U.S. Attorney Breon Peace
Peace pledged to continue to “aggressively root out corruption” and hold public officials accountable.
Many of Santos’ fellow New York Republicans called on him to resign after his history of fabrications was revealed. Some renewed their criticism of him as news of the criminal case spread.
“Listen, George Santos should have resigned in December. George Santos should have resigned in January. George Santos should have resigned yesterday. And perhaps he’ll resign today. But sooner or later, whether he chooses to or not, both the truth and justice will be delivered to him.”
U.S. Rep. Marc Molinaro
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, was more circumspect, saying “I think in America, you’re innocent till proven guilty.”
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