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CENTRAL ISLIP, United States, May 10 (AP) — U.S. Rep. George Santos, the New York Republican notorious for making up stories about his life, accused him Wednesday of defrauding donors from his campaign. Stealing at the event and lying to Congress that he is a millionaire and has been cheating on receiving unemployment benefits that he does not deserve. Afterwards, he said he would not abandon his re-election bid, ignoring calls to resign.
Santos’ 13-count federal indictment was a reckoning for a web of fraud and deceit that prosecutors say overlapped with his fantastical public image as a wealthy businessman — a fictional biography that began to unravel after he won election last fall.
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Santos, 34, was released on $500,000 bond after being arraigned and surrendered to Long Island authorities about five hours later to face charges of wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and making false statements to Congress. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison.
“This is the beginning of addressing and defending myself,” Santos told reporters afterwards, vowing to clear his name and calling his prosecution a “witch hunt.”
Santos said little during the arraignment, which lasted about 15 minutes. His attorney, Joseph Murray, asked the judge to allow Santos to travel freely for his campaign, even though he surrendered his passport. Santos said he would return to Washington on Thursday to vote.
Among the charges, prosecutors said Santos enticed supporters to donate money to a company by falsely claiming that the money would be used to support his campaign. Instead, they said, he used the money for personal expenses, including designer clothing, as well as his credit card and car payments.
Santos is also accused of misreporting his finances on congressional disclosure forms and applying for and receiving unemployment benefits while he was employed as a regional executive at an investment firm that was shut down by the government in 2021 over an alleged Ponzi scheme.
U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said the indictment “is designed to hold Santos accountable for various alleged fraudulent schemes and brazen misrepresentations.”
“Taken together, the charges in the indictment allege that Santos relied on repeated dishonesty and deceit to gain access to the halls of Congress and for his own personal gain.”
Reached by The Associated Press on Tuesday, Santos said he had no knowledge of the allegations.
As details of his fictitious resume came to light, Santos resisted calls — some from fellow Republicans — to resign — though he did decline his committee mandate. He has not indicated that he plans to resign as a result of his prosecution. In the past, members of Congress from both parties have stayed in office while facing charges.
Santos, 34, was elected to Congress last fall after a campaign built partly on falsehoods. He told people he was a wealthy Wall Street dealmaker with a large real estate portfolio and was a star volleyball player in college, etc.
In fact, Santos did not work for the large financial firm he claims employed him, did not go to college, and was financially strapped before running for office. He claimed he fueled his campaign primarily on self-made wealth earned by brokering expensive toys for wealthy clients, but the indictment said those boastings were also exaggerated.
In regulatory filings, Santos claims he lent more than $750,000 to his campaign and related PACs, but it’s unclear how he came so quickly after years of struggling to pay rent and facing multiple evictions procedures for obtaining such wealth.
In a financial disclosure form, Santos reported that his family business, the Devolder Organization, earned $750,000 a year, but the charges, released Wednesday, say Santos never received the payments, nor did he receive the $1 million and $5 million in dividends. from the company.
Santos described Devolder Organization as a broker selling luxury items such as yachts and airplanes. Shortly after Santos stopped working as a salesman for Harbor City Capital, which was incorporated in Florida, the firm was accused by federal authorities of operating an illegal Ponzi scheme.
In November 2021, Santos formed Redstone Strategies, a Florida company that federal prosecutors allege he used to defraud donors of funding his lifestyle. According to the indictment, Santos told an employee to solicit donations from the company and provided the person with contact information for potential donors.
The indictment alleges that the emails sent to potential donors falsely stated that the company was formed “exclusively” to help Santos’ campaign and that there was no limit to the amount they could contribute.
It said Santos lied about the money being used for television ads and other campaign expenses.
Last October, a month before his election, Santos transferred about USD 74,000 from company coffers to bank accounts he maintained, the indictment said. He also transferred money to some of his colleagues, it said.
After Santos’ fictional life story was revealed, many of his fellow New York Republicans called on him to resign. After news of his indictment broke, some called again.
“Whether he chooses or not, sooner or later truth and justice will be delivered to him,” said U.S. Rep. Marc Molinaro, a Republican who represents parts of upstate New York.
Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, who confronted Santos during President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address in February, said Santos’ resignation was long overdue.
“I think we’re seeing the wheels of justice turning slowly but well,” Romney said.
House Republican leaders Kevin McCarthy and Steve Scalise were more cautious, saying Santos should be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Santos has previously faced criminal investigations.
When he was 19, he was under criminal investigation in Brazil for allegedly using stolen checks to make purchases at a clothing store. Brazilian authorities said they had reopened the case.
In 2017, Santos was charged with theft in Pennsylvania after authorities said he used fraudulent checks for thousands of dollars to buy puppies from dog owners. The case was dismissed after Santos claimed his checkbook was stolen and someone else took the dogs.
Federal authorities have been separately investigating complaints that Santos raised money for an organization that claims to help neglected and abused pets. A New Jersey veteran accused Santos of failing to deliver the $3,000 he raised to help his pet dog undergo necessary surgery. (Associated Press)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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