New York republican George Santos, infamous for fabricating key parts of his life story, has been arrested on federal criminal charges ahead of an expected court appearance.
Key points:
- The indictment says Mr Santos used money donated for his campaign for designer clothes and to pay off credit cards
- US Attorney Breon Peace says the indictment seeks to hold Mr Santos accountable for “alleged fraudulent schemes and brazen misrepresentations”
- He was taken into custody at a federal courthouse on Long Island
The indictment says Mr Santos induced supporters to donate to a company under the false pretence that the money would be used to support his campaign.
Instead, it says, he used it for personal expenses, including luxury designer clothes and to pay off his credit cards.
He 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 and running for Congress.
US Attorney Breon Peace said 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,” Mr Peace said.
He was taken into custody at a federal courthouse on Long Island and was expected to make an initial court appearance later on Wednesday.
Campaign built on falsehoods
Mr Santos was elected to Congress last year after a campaign built partly on falsehoods.
He told people he was a wealthy Wall Street deal-maker with a substantial real estate portfolio and had been a star volleyball player in college, among other things.
In reality, he didn’t work at the big financial firms he claimed had employed him, didn’t go to college and had struggled financially before his run for public office.
Questions about his finances also surfaced.
In regulatory filings, Mr Santos said he loaned his campaign and related political action committees more than $US750,000 ($1.1 million), 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, Mr Santos reported making $US750,000 a year from a family company, the Devolder Organization, but the charges unsealed on Wednesday allege that Mr Santos never received that sum, nor the $US1 million and $US5 million in dividends he listed as coming from the firm.
Mr 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 a company accused by federal authorities of operating an illegal ponzi scheme.
Calls to resign
Many of Mr 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,” Marc Molinaro, a Republican representing parts of upstate New York, said.
“But sooner or later, whether he chooses to or not, both the truth and justice will be delivered to him.”
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, was more circumspect, saying “I think in America, you’re innocent till proven guilty.”
Mr 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 cheques to buy items at a clothing shop. Brazilian authorities said they have reopened the case.
In 2017, Mr Santos was charged with theft in Pennsylvania after authorities said he used thousands of dollars in fraudulent cheques to buy puppies from dog breeders. That case was dismissed after Mr Santos claimed his chequebook had been stolen, and that someone else had taken the dogs.
Federal authorities have separately been looking into complaints about Mr Santos’s work raising money for a group that purported to help neglected and abused pets.
One New Jersey veteran accused Mr Santos of failing to deliver $US3,000 he had raised to help his pet dog get a needed surgery.
AP