U.S. Rep. , the New York Republican infamous for , has been indicted on charges that he duped donors, stole from his campaign and lied to Congress about being a millionaire, all while cheating to collect unemployment benefits he didnB次元官网网址檛 deserve, prosecutors said Wednesday.
was a reckoning for a web of fraud and deceit that prosecutors say overlapped with SantosB次元官网网址� fantastical public image as a wealthy businessman B次元官网网址� a fictional biography that began to unravel after he won election last fall.
Santos surrendered on Wednesday and was taken to a federal courthouse on Long Island, where he was expected to make an initial court appearance on charges of wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and making false statements to Congress.
Among the allegations, prosecutors say Santos induced supporters to donate to a company under the false pretense that the money would be used to support his campaign. Instead, they say, he used the money for personal expenses, including designer clothes and his credit card and car payments.
Santos also is accused of lying about his finances on congressional disclosure forms and applying for and receiving unemployment benefits while he was employed as regional director of an investment firm that the government shut down in 2021 over allegations that it was a Ponzi scheme.
The indictment B次元官网网址渟eeks to hold Santos accountable for various alleged fraudulent schemes and brazen misrepresentations,B次元官网网址� U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said. B次元官网网址淭aken 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.B次元官网网址�
Reached by The Associated Press on Tuesday, Santos said he was unaware of the charges.
Santos has defied calls to resign B次元官网网址� some from fellow Republicans B次元官网网址� as details of his fictitious resume came to light, though he did . He has given no indication that he plans to step aside because of his indictment. In the past, members of Congress in both parties have remained in office while facing charges.
Santos, 34, was elected to Congress last fall after . He told people he was a wealthy Wall Street dealmaker with a substantial real estate portfolio who had been a star volleyball player in college, among other things.
In reality, Santos didnB次元官网网址檛 work at the big financial firms he claimed had employed him, didnB次元官网网址檛 go to college and struggled financially before his run for public office. He claimed he fueled his run largely with self-made riches, earned from brokering deals on expensive toys for wealthy clients, but the indictment alleges those boasts were also exaggerated.
In regulatory filings, Santos claimed he loaned his campaign and related political action committees more than $750,000, but it was unclear how he would have come into that kind of wealth so quickly after years in which he struggled to pay his rent and faced multiple eviction proceedings.
In a financial disclosure form, Santos reported making $750,000 a year from a family company, the Devolder Organization, but the charges unsealed Wednesday allege that Santos never received that sum, nor the $1 million and $5 million in dividends he listed as coming from the firm.
Santos has described the Devolder Organization as a broker for sales of luxury items like yachts and aircraft. The business was incorporated in Florida shortly after Santos stopped working as a salesman for Harbor City Capital, the company accused by federal authorities of operating an illegal Ponzi scheme.
In November 2021, Santos formed Redstone Strategies, a Florida company that federal prosecutors say he used to dupe donors into financing his lifestyle. According to the indictment, Santos told an associate to solicit contributions to the company and gave the person contact information for potential donors.
Emails to prospective donors falsely claimed that the company was formed B次元官网网址渆xclusivelyB次元官网网址� to aid SantosB次元官网网址� 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.
Many of SantosB次元官网网址� fellow New York Republicans called on him to resign after his fabricated life story was revealed. Some renewed those calls after news of his indictment.
B次元官网网址淪ooner or later, whether he chooses to or not, both the truth and justice will be delivered to him,B次元官网网址� said U.S. Rep. Marc Molinaro, a Republican representing parts of upstate New York.
Sen. Mitt Romney, a Utah Republican who confronted Santos at President Joe BidenB次元官网网址檚 State of the Union address in February, said Santos should have resigned a long time ago.
B次元官网网址淚 think weB次元官网网址檙e seeing that the wheels of justice grind slow, but they grind fine,B次元官网网址� Romney said.
House Republican leaders Kevin McCarthy and Steve Scalise were more circumspect, saying Santos deserved a presumption of innocence until proven guilty.
Santos has faced criminal investigations before.
When he was 19, he was the subject of a criminal investigation in Brazil over allegations he used stolen checks to buy items at a clothing shop. Brazilian authorities said they have reopened the case.
In 2017, Santos was in Pennsylvania after authorities said he used thousands of dollars in fraudulent checks to buy puppies from dog breeders. That case was dismissed after Santos claimed his checkbook had been stolen, and that someone else had taken the dogs.
Federal authorities have separately been looking into complaints about SantosB次元官网网址� work raising money for a group that purported to help neglected and abused pets. One New Jersey veteran accused Santos of he had raised to help his pet dog get a needed surgery.
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Farnoush Amiri in Washington and Alanna Durkin Richer in Boston contributed to this report.
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On Twitter, follow Jake Offenhartz at and Michael Sisak at and send confidential tips by visiting
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Follow the APB次元官网网址檚 coverage of U.S. Rep. George Santos at .
Jake Offenhartz And Michael R. Sisak, The Associated Press
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