Photo: MICHAEL REYNOLDS/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Within hours of being indicted, Santospleaded not guilty to all charges against him, and was ultimately released on $500,000 bond — which was paid for with the help of previously anonymous people, who have now been identified as his aunt, Elma Santos Preven, and father, Gercino Dos Santos.
A federal judge in New York agreed to unseal the records showing the identities of the people who helped the embattled congressman post his bond, denying Santos' request to keep the information out of public view. In a June court filing, Santos' lawyer had asserted that family members sponsored the bond — not people with political interests — and argued that they deserve privacy.
Rep. George Santos leaves court after he was charged with 13 federal criminal offenses.Matt Agudo / SplashNews.com
In anindictment, federal prosecutors say that the congressman allegedly “devised and executed a scheme” aimed at defrauding donors to his 2022 political campaign.
That scheme, prosecutors allege, included applying for and receiving unemployment benefits at the height of the pandemic — while he was employed and running a congressional campaign. The fraud continued, the indictment adds, when Santos began pocketing campaign contributions to buy designer clothing and pay off his personal debts.
U.S. Attorney Breon Peacesaid in a statementannouncing the arrest that “the allegations in the indictment charge Santos with relying on repeated dishonesty and deception to ascend to the halls of Congress and enrich himself.”
If Santos is convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the top counts, according to the Justice Department.
New York Rep. George Santos at the U.S. Capitol.Nathan Howard/Bloomberg via Getty
Santos has generated substantial controversy since his election to Congress in November, particularly after abombshellNew York Timesreportfound that many of the claims he made on the campaign trail andon his resumewere unsubstantiated.
The outlet said Santos misled voters about his level of education, previous jobs and family ties to the Holocaust — news thatearned him bipartisan condemnationfor misrepresenting himself.
Santos himselfacknowledged that he has “embellished"significant portions of his resume,telling theNew York Postthat he lied about working at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, as he had previously asserted, and about attending Baruch College and New York University (he did not graduate from college).
In January,The Washington Postreported that some of Santos' campaign donations came from Andrew Intrater, the cousin of sanctioned Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg, who has close ties to Russian PresidentVladimir Putin.
source: people.com
