According to several reports, federal prosecutors have brought criminal charges against New York Rep. George Santos, the Republican member whose astounding pattern of lies and fabrications shocked even seasoned politicians.
Santos had come under fire and ridicule for a long list of false claims about his background, education, and professional background.
The Eastern District of New York’s charges against Santos are still classified as privileged information. The individuals talked to The AP under the condition of anonymity because they are unable to publicly discuss the specifics of the case until it is unsealed.
When Santos appears in court, which may happen as soon as Wednesday, the sealing would be removed.
Reached on Tuesday, Santos said, “This is news to me.”
“You’re the first to call me about this,” he said in a brief phone interview.
A spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office declined to comment. The charges were first reported by CNN.
Santos just declared his candidacy for reelection while defying calls for his resignation. He said that his fabrications of his life story, which included saying he had positions at many major financial institutions and an opulent real estate holdings, were merely tasteful additions to his resume. However, there has been a lot of pressure on him to go.
He was pursued by news outlets and the general population. On social media and late-night television, he was made fun of. Republicans from New York requested his resignation, claiming his lies had harmed both the public and his own party.
The New York attorney general’s office and Nassau County prosecutors had already declared that they were investigating potential legal infractions.
Besides questions about his life story, Santos’ campaign spending stoked scrutiny because of unusual payments for travel, lodging and other items.
The nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center lodged a complaint with the Federal Election Commission and urged regulators to investigate Santos. The “mountain of lies” Santos propagated during the campaign about his life story and qualifications, the centre said, should prompt the commission to “thoroughly investigate what appear to be equally brazen lies about how his campaign raised and spent money.”
But the money required to make such loans seems to have materialized out of thin air. In a financial disclosure declaration submitted to the U.S. House clerk in 2020, Santos claimed to have no assets and a $55,000 yearly income.
The Devolder Organization, his business, didn’t become official until the spring of 2021. However, Santos revealed in a new financial declaration form he submitted in September of last year that this new Florida-incorporated company had given him $750,000 in salary each of the previous two years, in addition to another $1 million to $5 million in dividends.
In one interview, Santos portrayed the Devolder Organization as a company that assisted wealthy individuals in purchasing boats and planes.
According to court documents, Santos was the target of three eviction actions in Queens due to unpaid rent between 2014 and 2017.
