Newly Elected Republican Lied about his entire life
ASPartOfMe
Veteran
Joined: 25 Aug 2013
Age: 66
Gender: Male
Posts: 34,494
Location: Long Island, New York
10 Feb 2023, 12:55 am
House Democrats file resolution attempting to expel George Santos from Congress
Quote:
A group of House Democrats on Thursday filed a resolution seeking to expel embattled New York's Republican Rep. George Santos from Congress, as new details emerge about federal scrutiny into his work for a company accused of running a Ponzi scheme.
The resolution is mostly symbolic and unlikely to reach the floor for a vote, as House GOP leadership has so far declined to call on Santos to resign. Santos has admitted to fabricating several aspects of his work history and education, and now faces several investigations, including probes related to his finances and his fundraising for charity.
"We gave him plenty of time to resign, and he has chosen not to do so," Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the freshman lawmaker who is spearheading House Democrats' effort, said during a press conference unveiling the expulsion resolution outside the Capitol.
Santos told reporters Thursday afternoon that he won't step down.
The new CBS Reports documentary, "Campaign of Deceit," revealed that Santos' work for an investment firm that was later accused of being a Ponzi scheme attracted scrutiny from the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to a witness who fielded questions from investigators. Santos told reporters at the Capitol on Thursday that he was unaware of any wrongdoing at the firm, known as Harbor City Capital.
Santos' support in the party is not universal. He and GOP Sen. Mitt Romney had a tense exchange shortly before the State of the Union address on Tuesday, in which the Utah senator told Santos he didn't belong in Congress. Multiple other Republicans, including several from New York, have said he should resign.
Expelling a member from the House requires the support of two thirds of members under the Constitution.
The resolution is mostly symbolic and unlikely to reach the floor for a vote, as House GOP leadership has so far declined to call on Santos to resign. Santos has admitted to fabricating several aspects of his work history and education, and now faces several investigations, including probes related to his finances and his fundraising for charity.
"We gave him plenty of time to resign, and he has chosen not to do so," Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the freshman lawmaker who is spearheading House Democrats' effort, said during a press conference unveiling the expulsion resolution outside the Capitol.
Santos told reporters Thursday afternoon that he won't step down.
The new CBS Reports documentary, "Campaign of Deceit," revealed that Santos' work for an investment firm that was later accused of being a Ponzi scheme attracted scrutiny from the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to a witness who fielded questions from investigators. Santos told reporters at the Capitol on Thursday that he was unaware of any wrongdoing at the firm, known as Harbor City Capital.
Santos' support in the party is not universal. He and GOP Sen. Mitt Romney had a tense exchange shortly before the State of the Union address on Tuesday, in which the Utah senator told Santos he didn't belong in Congress. Multiple other Republicans, including several from New York, have said he should resign.
Expelling a member from the House requires the support of two thirds of members under the Constitution.
Santos was charged with theft in 2017 case tied to Amish dog breeders
Quote:
Rep. George Santos was charged with theft in Pennsylvania’s Amish Country in 2017 after a series of bad checks were written in his name to dog breeders, according to the court and a lawyer friend who helped him address the charge.
Just days after $15,125 in checks were made out for “puppies,” according to the memo lines, Santos held an adoption event at a Staten Island pet store with his animal rescue charity Friends of Pets United, according to the store’s Instagram account and a person who attended the event.
The charge was dismissed and his record expunged after Santos claimed someone had stolen his checkbook, according to the court and the lawyer.
The Pennsylvania theft charge, which has not previously been reported, is the latest revelation in a dizzying array of scandals for the beleaguered New York congressman, who fabricated much of his campaign biography. Santos is facing at least five law enforcement probes including an FBI investigation into his role in a service dog charity scheme tied to Friends of Pets United and a Brazilian fraud case.
Attorney Tiffany Bogosian, who attended middle school with Santos but eventually fell out of touch with her classmate, ran into him at a Queens Starbucks in late 2019, she told POLITICO.
Santos told her he just lost a bid for Congress. Several weeks later, she said, Santos asked for help: He’d been awakened by a 4 a.m. knock on the door of his Queens home from NYPD officers who served him with an extradition warrant related to the Pennsylvania theft charge, he told her. On Feb. 15, 2020 she said he stopped by Bogosian’s New York office, where she tried to help him with some legal advice as a friend.
Santos said his checkbook had gone missing in 2017 and blamed someone he knew for its disappearance, she recalled. He told Bogosian he “canceled the checkbook” with TD Bank as soon as he’d noticed it was gone, just “days after getting it.”
Bogosian said one of the NYPD detectives told her and Santos they should contact a Pennsylvania state trooper about the warrant.
The NYPD referred questions about the warrant to Pennsylvania State Police, who said it doesn’t comment on prior investigations.
At her office in February 2020, Bogosian sent an email to “Trooper Adams” on Santos’ behalf, according to a copy of the message she shared with POLITICO.
In the email, Borgosian argued Santos’ case, as he’d relayed it to her.
“In 2017 he received four check books for the account at his request from the TD BANK branch he banked with in Queens, NY, and of the four one went missing,” Bogosian wrote to the Pennsylvania trooper.
“He immediately called his bank upon learning 1/4 check books was missing and all checks were canceled at that time, with a stop pay on all checks.”
“As such no checks were ever cashed or presented against his account due to his cancellation of all checks linked to this account. The account was closed on March 3, 2018, for personal reasons unrelated to any alleged fraud on his account (banking preference),” Bogosian wrote.
She attached copies of the nine canceled checks to eight different people and corresponding bank statements from Santos’ account showing a negative balance of $690 on Nov. 4, 2017 and another negative balance of $349 on Dec. 3, 2017.
She noted to the trooper that the signatures were different on each of the checks and attached Santos’ New York State driver’s license to show his signature on that ID didn’t match any of the ones on the checks. She wrote that Santos was clearly a victim of fraud — but hadn’t realized it until he was served with the warrant because he’d canceled the checks and later closed the account.
Santos told Bogosian, because he was involved in politics, he couldn’t have an outstanding charge against him. A week after their meeting, he went to Pennsylvania to address the warrant, and told prosecutors that he “worked for the S.E.C.,” successfully persuading them to drop the charges, she remembered him telling her after he returned.
Bogosian said she didn’t learn why the Pennsylvania State Police couldn’t locate Santos until 2020, or how they ultimately found him in Queens, but said the trooper seemed happy to have “finally found” Santos when she talked to him on the phone after she sent the email.
Bogoisan said she now doesn’t believe Santos’ story, after what happened a few months later.
Bogosian told The Washington Post last month that she introduced a personal injury client who’d won a big settlement to Santos in late 2020 after he’d promised lucrative investment opportunities. Santos tried to get the client, Christian Lopez, to invest with Harbor City Capital, a Florida firm where he worked that the Securities and Exchange Commission later said was a Ponzi scheme. Her client demurred, telling CNN the rate of return promised by Santos sounded too good to be true.
Santos has said he wasn’t aware of any illegality at the firm and is not named in the SEC complaint.
“I did think it was so weird at the time that his checks didn’t have his address or phone number listed on them. After the dinner with Christian [Lopez] I started having second thoughts, I thought, ‘Oh, he had the animal adoptions.’ To be honest, even at the time I questioned it,” she said, but she ultimately took Santos at his word.
Theft by deception charge
A representative from York County District Court in Pennsylvania confirmed Santos was charged in November 2017 with theft by deception, but said the record was expunged on Nov. 24, 2021. No further information about why the charge was expunged could be given, the representative said.
One of Santos’ bounced checks was written out to Jacob Stoltzfus, a dog breeder in Bird-in-Hand, Pa., in the amount of $775 for “puppy” and dated Nov. 22, 2017, according to a copy of the check obtained by POLITICO. Stoltzfus said that would have been a typical amount for one of his purebred dogs at the time.
Santos checks
Checks written in 2017 that George Santos claimed were stolen. | POLITICO Illustration
The recipients attempted to cash the checks at Coatesville Savings Bank and Bank of Bird-in-Hand in Pennsylvania.
Just three days after the $775 check is dated — on Nov. 25, 2017 — Santos’ animal charity Friends of Pets United held a puppy adoption event at the Staten Island pet store Pet Oasis.
A representative from York County District Court in Pennsylvania confirmed Santos was charged in November 2017 with theft by deception, but said the record was expunged on Nov. 24, 2021. No further information about why the charge was expunged could be given, the representative said.
One of Santos’ bounced checks was written out to Jacob Stoltzfus, a dog breeder in Bird-in-Hand, Pa., in the amount of $775 for “puppy” and dated Nov. 22, 2017, according to a copy of the check obtained by POLITICO. Stoltzfus said that would have been a typical amount for one of his purebred dogs at the time
The recipients attempted to cash the checks at Coatesville Savings Bank and Bank of Bird-in-Hand in Pennsylvania.
Just three days after the $775 check is dated — on Nov. 25, 2017 — Santos’ animal charity Friends of Pets United held a puppy adoption event at the Staten Island pet store Pet Oasis.
“Friends of Pets United has a puppy overload … We’ll be cuddling: Golden Retriever, Lab, Yorkie, Border collie, American Eskimo and Shepherds … #adoptdontshop,” an Instagram post from Pet Oasis read.
The New York Times reported this week that Santos had an unusual request for the pet store owner Daniel Avissato after an adoption event at Pet Oasis. He asked Avissato to make a check with the proceeds out to his name instead of the name of the charity. Avissato said he refused, but later noticed — when he looked at his bank records — that the check had been changed to the way Santos wanted it, according to the Times.
Later that same year, in December 2017, Michele Vazzo said she met Santos at Pet Oasis when she adopted a puppy at another event. Santos told her the golden retriever was rescued from an Amish puppy mill. There were many dogs at the charity events, and adoption costs ranged from $300 to $400, she recalled.
“The fees were always different and he always had a ton of puppies and a ton of people helping him,” Vazzo said in an interview.
Santos told her different stories about where the puppies came from, sometimes saying he found pregnant dogs on the street and other times claiming he rescued them in Puerto Rico or other places, she said.
The charity was not a registered nonprofit or rescue group, according to The New York Times.
Just days after $15,125 in checks were made out for “puppies,” according to the memo lines, Santos held an adoption event at a Staten Island pet store with his animal rescue charity Friends of Pets United, according to the store’s Instagram account and a person who attended the event.
The charge was dismissed and his record expunged after Santos claimed someone had stolen his checkbook, according to the court and the lawyer.
The Pennsylvania theft charge, which has not previously been reported, is the latest revelation in a dizzying array of scandals for the beleaguered New York congressman, who fabricated much of his campaign biography. Santos is facing at least five law enforcement probes including an FBI investigation into his role in a service dog charity scheme tied to Friends of Pets United and a Brazilian fraud case.
Attorney Tiffany Bogosian, who attended middle school with Santos but eventually fell out of touch with her classmate, ran into him at a Queens Starbucks in late 2019, she told POLITICO.
Santos told her he just lost a bid for Congress. Several weeks later, she said, Santos asked for help: He’d been awakened by a 4 a.m. knock on the door of his Queens home from NYPD officers who served him with an extradition warrant related to the Pennsylvania theft charge, he told her. On Feb. 15, 2020 she said he stopped by Bogosian’s New York office, where she tried to help him with some legal advice as a friend.
Santos said his checkbook had gone missing in 2017 and blamed someone he knew for its disappearance, she recalled. He told Bogosian he “canceled the checkbook” with TD Bank as soon as he’d noticed it was gone, just “days after getting it.”
Bogosian said one of the NYPD detectives told her and Santos they should contact a Pennsylvania state trooper about the warrant.
The NYPD referred questions about the warrant to Pennsylvania State Police, who said it doesn’t comment on prior investigations.
At her office in February 2020, Bogosian sent an email to “Trooper Adams” on Santos’ behalf, according to a copy of the message she shared with POLITICO.
In the email, Borgosian argued Santos’ case, as he’d relayed it to her.
“In 2017 he received four check books for the account at his request from the TD BANK branch he banked with in Queens, NY, and of the four one went missing,” Bogosian wrote to the Pennsylvania trooper.
“He immediately called his bank upon learning 1/4 check books was missing and all checks were canceled at that time, with a stop pay on all checks.”
“As such no checks were ever cashed or presented against his account due to his cancellation of all checks linked to this account. The account was closed on March 3, 2018, for personal reasons unrelated to any alleged fraud on his account (banking preference),” Bogosian wrote.
She attached copies of the nine canceled checks to eight different people and corresponding bank statements from Santos’ account showing a negative balance of $690 on Nov. 4, 2017 and another negative balance of $349 on Dec. 3, 2017.
She noted to the trooper that the signatures were different on each of the checks and attached Santos’ New York State driver’s license to show his signature on that ID didn’t match any of the ones on the checks. She wrote that Santos was clearly a victim of fraud — but hadn’t realized it until he was served with the warrant because he’d canceled the checks and later closed the account.
Santos told Bogosian, because he was involved in politics, he couldn’t have an outstanding charge against him. A week after their meeting, he went to Pennsylvania to address the warrant, and told prosecutors that he “worked for the S.E.C.,” successfully persuading them to drop the charges, she remembered him telling her after he returned.
Bogosian said she didn’t learn why the Pennsylvania State Police couldn’t locate Santos until 2020, or how they ultimately found him in Queens, but said the trooper seemed happy to have “finally found” Santos when she talked to him on the phone after she sent the email.
Bogoisan said she now doesn’t believe Santos’ story, after what happened a few months later.
Bogosian told The Washington Post last month that she introduced a personal injury client who’d won a big settlement to Santos in late 2020 after he’d promised lucrative investment opportunities. Santos tried to get the client, Christian Lopez, to invest with Harbor City Capital, a Florida firm where he worked that the Securities and Exchange Commission later said was a Ponzi scheme. Her client demurred, telling CNN the rate of return promised by Santos sounded too good to be true.
Santos has said he wasn’t aware of any illegality at the firm and is not named in the SEC complaint.
“I did think it was so weird at the time that his checks didn’t have his address or phone number listed on them. After the dinner with Christian [Lopez] I started having second thoughts, I thought, ‘Oh, he had the animal adoptions.’ To be honest, even at the time I questioned it,” she said, but she ultimately took Santos at his word.
Theft by deception charge
A representative from York County District Court in Pennsylvania confirmed Santos was charged in November 2017 with theft by deception, but said the record was expunged on Nov. 24, 2021. No further information about why the charge was expunged could be given, the representative said.
One of Santos’ bounced checks was written out to Jacob Stoltzfus, a dog breeder in Bird-in-Hand, Pa., in the amount of $775 for “puppy” and dated Nov. 22, 2017, according to a copy of the check obtained by POLITICO. Stoltzfus said that would have been a typical amount for one of his purebred dogs at the time.
Santos checks
Checks written in 2017 that George Santos claimed were stolen. | POLITICO Illustration
The recipients attempted to cash the checks at Coatesville Savings Bank and Bank of Bird-in-Hand in Pennsylvania.
Just three days after the $775 check is dated — on Nov. 25, 2017 — Santos’ animal charity Friends of Pets United held a puppy adoption event at the Staten Island pet store Pet Oasis.
A representative from York County District Court in Pennsylvania confirmed Santos was charged in November 2017 with theft by deception, but said the record was expunged on Nov. 24, 2021. No further information about why the charge was expunged could be given, the representative said.
One of Santos’ bounced checks was written out to Jacob Stoltzfus, a dog breeder in Bird-in-Hand, Pa., in the amount of $775 for “puppy” and dated Nov. 22, 2017, according to a copy of the check obtained by POLITICO. Stoltzfus said that would have been a typical amount for one of his purebred dogs at the time
The recipients attempted to cash the checks at Coatesville Savings Bank and Bank of Bird-in-Hand in Pennsylvania.
Just three days after the $775 check is dated — on Nov. 25, 2017 — Santos’ animal charity Friends of Pets United held a puppy adoption event at the Staten Island pet store Pet Oasis.
“Friends of Pets United has a puppy overload … We’ll be cuddling: Golden Retriever, Lab, Yorkie, Border collie, American Eskimo and Shepherds … #adoptdontshop,” an Instagram post from Pet Oasis read.
The New York Times reported this week that Santos had an unusual request for the pet store owner Daniel Avissato after an adoption event at Pet Oasis. He asked Avissato to make a check with the proceeds out to his name instead of the name of the charity. Avissato said he refused, but later noticed — when he looked at his bank records — that the check had been changed to the way Santos wanted it, according to the Times.
Later that same year, in December 2017, Michele Vazzo said she met Santos at Pet Oasis when she adopted a puppy at another event. Santos told her the golden retriever was rescued from an Amish puppy mill. There were many dogs at the charity events, and adoption costs ranged from $300 to $400, she recalled.
“The fees were always different and he always had a ton of puppies and a ton of people helping him,” Vazzo said in an interview.
Santos told her different stories about where the puppies came from, sometimes saying he found pregnant dogs on the street and other times claiming he rescued them in Puerto Rico or other places, she said.
The charity was not a registered nonprofit or rescue group, according to The New York Times.
_________________
Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity
It is Autism Acceptance Month
“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman
goldfish21
Veteran
Joined: 17 Feb 2013
Age: 41
Gender: Male
Posts: 22,612
Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
for supporting trump. Because doing so is deplorable.ASPartOfMe
Veteran
Joined: 25 Aug 2013
Age: 66
Gender: Male
Posts: 34,494
Location: Long Island, New York
10 Feb 2023, 5:27 pm
George Santos says Kyrsten Sinema told him to 'hang in there.' Her office says that’s a 'lie.
Quote:
Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., said in an interview on Thursday that Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., consoled him after his tense exchange this week with Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, but Sinema's office says she never spoke to Santos.
Santos told Newsmax Thursday evening that after Romney lashed out at him ahead of Tuesday's State of the Union address, Sinema told the congressman to “hang in there, buddy” as she was walking by. He added that she "was very polite, very kindhearted," unlike Romney, who he claims has "always had prejudice towards minorities."
"She’s a good person, unlike Mr. Romney, who thinks he’s above it all. And his whole mighty white horse trying to talk to us down on morality," Santos said.
But that never happened, Sinema's spokesperson Hannah Hurley, told NBC News, calling Santos' comment "a lie." The two lawmakers never spoke, Hurley said, and Sinema was not aware of the exchange between Santos and Romney until the GOP senator filled her in afterward.
Santos' office declined to comment for this article.
During the same interview with Newsmax, Santos claimed he never lied about his work experience. "I want to set the record clear about my work experience. I never lied." Santos said. “To say that I deceived and there was a campaign of deceit and deception, is just not fair. That’s just the political spin that the Nassau County GOP wants to create on this narrative."
When asked by the Newsmax host whether he ever survived a brain tumor, Santos said, "I had my own personal medical issues in the past and I don’t feel I need to go into details. But yes, I did have an acute tumor of..." The congressman had previously claimed in 2020 that he had battled a brain tumor a couple of years earlier.
Santos told Newsmax Thursday evening that after Romney lashed out at him ahead of Tuesday's State of the Union address, Sinema told the congressman to “hang in there, buddy” as she was walking by. He added that she "was very polite, very kindhearted," unlike Romney, who he claims has "always had prejudice towards minorities."
"She’s a good person, unlike Mr. Romney, who thinks he’s above it all. And his whole mighty white horse trying to talk to us down on morality," Santos said.
But that never happened, Sinema's spokesperson Hannah Hurley, told NBC News, calling Santos' comment "a lie." The two lawmakers never spoke, Hurley said, and Sinema was not aware of the exchange between Santos and Romney until the GOP senator filled her in afterward.
Santos' office declined to comment for this article.
During the same interview with Newsmax, Santos claimed he never lied about his work experience. "I want to set the record clear about my work experience. I never lied." Santos said. “To say that I deceived and there was a campaign of deceit and deception, is just not fair. That’s just the political spin that the Nassau County GOP wants to create on this narrative."
When asked by the Newsmax host whether he ever survived a brain tumor, Santos said, "I had my own personal medical issues in the past and I don’t feel I need to go into details. But yes, I did have an acute tumor of..." The congressman had previously claimed in 2020 that he had battled a brain tumor a couple of years earlier.
_________________
Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity
It is Autism Acceptance Month
“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman
goldfish21
Veteran
Joined: 17 Feb 2013
Age: 41
Gender: Male
Posts: 22,612
Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
ASPartOfMe
Veteran
Joined: 25 Aug 2013
Age: 66
Gender: Male
Posts: 34,494
Location: Long Island, New York
15 Feb 2023, 4:32 pm
George Santos was interviewed by police in 2017 international credit card fraud probe
Quote:
In the early evening on April 17, 2017, a Chase Bank security officer in Seattle watched through an ATM's camera as a man approached and removed a card-skimming device.
Moments later, police officers pounced, arresting the man, Gustavo Ribeiro Trelha, then an Orlando, Florida, resident. The case would lead to a guilty plea and Trelha's deportation back to his native Brazil. It also led an investigator — for reasons still not entirely clear — to George Santos, the future New York congressman.
With each passing day, new revelations have emerged about the murky past of the freshman Republican, who was elected in November 2022 from a New York district that encompasses parts of Queens and Long Island. Despite glaring misstatements on his resume, Santos has vowed to hang onto his seat even as fresh discoveries about his past emerge. His election was the subject of a recent CBS Reports documentary, "Campaign of Deceit."
Reports have indicated law enforcement agencies have been looking into the financing of his campaign, his stewardship of a pet charity and his work for a company that was later ensnared in a Ponzi scheme probe. Santos has denied all allegations of wrongdoing in those cases.
CBS News has now learned of yet another curious wrinkle — the surfacing of Santos' name during a 2017 credit-card skimming and identity-theft probe in Washington state.
The defendant in the case, Trelha, cooperated that evening with detectives, allowing them to search his rental car. Inside they found an empty FedEx package with a sender address in Winter Park, Florida, according to the police report. The address was one of George Santos' former residences.
Six months earlier, in October 2016, a ticket for failing to stop at a red light in Florida was issued to Santos, listing the same Winter Park address. It's unclear if the address led investigators to Santos, or if he was ever a suspect in the credit card investigation, but a law enforcement source confirmed he was interviewed as part of the probe.
One acquaintance of Santos told CBS News he claimed in 2020 to have served as a confidential informant in the case, but she now questions whether that was true.
Trelha would later claim he was paid $100 per day by a group based in Brazil and Florida to place and remove card skimmers, according to court documents. In his hotel room in SeaTac, Washington, detectives found another skimming device, three modified ATM cameras, identification bearing a pseudonym — Matos Fontinele — and 10 fraudulent cards linked to stolen numbers.
Prosecutors said they had evidence Trelha compromised nearly 300 accounts with the card skimmer in just three days in Seattle. They said each night Trelha uploaded skimmed account information to a "cloud" service, where the Brazilian group could access the information. Calling the operation "sophisticated," a prosecutor said they believed it was just "the tip of the iceberg," according to a court transcript. Trelha was sentenced to time served, having already spent more than seven months in jail, and was then turned over to immigration authorities.
"We don't really know, frankly, the full extent and the full harm that was caused by this offense," Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Diggs said at Trelha's sentencing, after he entered a guilty plea to one count of felony access device fraud.
A sentencing memorandum submitted by Trelha's attorney includes a letter by a person named "Leide Santos," claiming to be Trelha's girlfriend. She described Trelha as a former flight attendant involved in a construction business in Florida and said he was "dedicated to his son" in Brazil.
"Leide Santos" described starting a business with Trelha in Florida, but CBS News was unable to locate records listing either name in Florida's Division of Corporations database. CBS News was unable to locate or contact anyone named "Leide Santos" who fit her description. There is no indication "Leide Santos" and In the early evening on April 17, 2017, a Chase Bank security officer in Seattle watched through an ATM's camera as a man approached and removed a card-skimming device.
Moments later, police officers pounced, arresting the man, Gustavo Ribeiro Trelha, then an Orlando, Florida, resident. The case would lead to a guilty plea and Trelha's deportation back to his native Brazil. It also led an investigator — for reasons still not entirely clear — to George Santos, the future New York congressman.
With each passing day, new revelations have emerged about the murky past of the freshman Republican, who was elected in November 2022 from a New York district that encompasses parts of Queens and Long Island. Despite glaring misstatements on his resume, Santos has vowed to hang onto his seat even as fresh discoveries about his past emerge. His election was the subject of a recent CBS Reports documentary, "Campaign of Deceit."
Reports have indicated law enforcement agencies have been looking into the financing of his campaign, his stewardship of a pet charity and his work for a company that was later ensnared in a Ponzi scheme probe. Santos has denied all allegations of wrongdoing in those cases.
CBS News has now learned of yet another curious wrinkle — the surfacing of Santos' name during a 2017 credit-card skimming and identity-theft probe in Washington state.
The defendant in the case, Trelha, cooperated that evening with detectives, allowing them to search his rental car. Inside they found an empty FedEx package with a sender address in Winter Park, Florida, according to the police report. The address was one of George Santos' former residences.
Six months earlier, in October 2016, a ticket for failing to stop at a red light in Florida was issued to Santos, listing the same Winter Park address. It's unclear if the address led investigators to Santos, or if he was ever a suspect in the credit card investigation, but a law enforcement source confirmed he was interviewed as part of the probe.
One acquaintance of Santos told CBS News he claimed in 2020 to have served as a confidential informant in the case, but she now questions whether that was true.
Trelha would later claim he was paid $100 per day by a group based in Brazil and Florida to place and remove card skimmers, according to court documents. In his hotel room in SeaTac, Washington, detectives found another skimming device, three modified ATM cameras, identification bearing a pseudonym — Matos Fontinele — and 10 fraudulent cards linked to stolen numbers.
Prosecutors said they had evidence Trelha compromised nearly 300 accounts with the card skimmer in just three days in Seattle. They said each night Trelha uploaded skimmed account information to a "cloud" service, where the Brazilian group could access the information. Calling the operation "sophisticated," a prosecutor said they believed it was just "the tip of the iceberg," according to a court transcript. Trelha was sentenced to time served, having already spent more than seven months in jail, and was then turned over to immigration authorities.
"We don't really know, frankly, the full extent and the full harm that was caused by this offense," Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Diggs said at Trelha's sentencing, after he entered a guilty plea to one count of felony access device fraud.
A sentencing memorandum submitted by Trelha's attorney includes a letter by a person named "Leide Santos," claiming to be Trelha's girlfriend. She described Trelha as a former flight attendant involved in a construction business in Florida and said he was "dedicated to his son" in Brazil.
"Leide Santos" described starting a business with Trelha in Florida, but CBS News was unable to locate records listing either name in Florida's Division of Corporations database. CBS News was unable to locate or contact anyone named "Leide Santos" who fit her description. There is no indication "Leide Santos" and George Santos are related.
She learned of the episode while providing Santos with advice, as a friend, on a different legal matter, a Pennsylvania warrant related to bounced checks. Politico reported that the Pennsylvania case led to a theft charge, but Santos claimed his checkbook had been stolen, and the charge was later expunged.
"He believed that the warrant had something to do with a prior incident where he was an informant for the Seattle Police Department, for, you know, a fraudulent kind of ring of, like, credit-card making and things like that," Bogosian said during a January interview with CBS News.
The Seattle Police Department did not reply to a request for comment.
Bogosian provided CBS News with an email she sent in February 2020 to a Pennsylvania state trooper and a Seattle detective in which she described Santos' alleged portrayal of his contact with that detective.
Santos claimed he "was a liaison/informant to his office on a case against a defendant in Washington (Gustavo Ribeiro) and at least three other defendants in the State of Florida, who were committing identity theft and perpetrating frauds as part of a conspiracy ring," Bogosian wrote, adding that she was supplying information to the detective provided "by [Santos'] 2017 roommate, a person only known as 'Sydney Lima.'"
CBS News has been unable to contact "Sydney Lima" or confirm that this individual exists.
Moments later, police officers pounced, arresting the man, Gustavo Ribeiro Trelha, then an Orlando, Florida, resident. The case would lead to a guilty plea and Trelha's deportation back to his native Brazil. It also led an investigator — for reasons still not entirely clear — to George Santos, the future New York congressman.
With each passing day, new revelations have emerged about the murky past of the freshman Republican, who was elected in November 2022 from a New York district that encompasses parts of Queens and Long Island. Despite glaring misstatements on his resume, Santos has vowed to hang onto his seat even as fresh discoveries about his past emerge. His election was the subject of a recent CBS Reports documentary, "Campaign of Deceit."
Reports have indicated law enforcement agencies have been looking into the financing of his campaign, his stewardship of a pet charity and his work for a company that was later ensnared in a Ponzi scheme probe. Santos has denied all allegations of wrongdoing in those cases.
CBS News has now learned of yet another curious wrinkle — the surfacing of Santos' name during a 2017 credit-card skimming and identity-theft probe in Washington state.
The defendant in the case, Trelha, cooperated that evening with detectives, allowing them to search his rental car. Inside they found an empty FedEx package with a sender address in Winter Park, Florida, according to the police report. The address was one of George Santos' former residences.
Six months earlier, in October 2016, a ticket for failing to stop at a red light in Florida was issued to Santos, listing the same Winter Park address. It's unclear if the address led investigators to Santos, or if he was ever a suspect in the credit card investigation, but a law enforcement source confirmed he was interviewed as part of the probe.
One acquaintance of Santos told CBS News he claimed in 2020 to have served as a confidential informant in the case, but she now questions whether that was true.
Trelha would later claim he was paid $100 per day by a group based in Brazil and Florida to place and remove card skimmers, according to court documents. In his hotel room in SeaTac, Washington, detectives found another skimming device, three modified ATM cameras, identification bearing a pseudonym — Matos Fontinele — and 10 fraudulent cards linked to stolen numbers.
Prosecutors said they had evidence Trelha compromised nearly 300 accounts with the card skimmer in just three days in Seattle. They said each night Trelha uploaded skimmed account information to a "cloud" service, where the Brazilian group could access the information. Calling the operation "sophisticated," a prosecutor said they believed it was just "the tip of the iceberg," according to a court transcript. Trelha was sentenced to time served, having already spent more than seven months in jail, and was then turned over to immigration authorities.
"We don't really know, frankly, the full extent and the full harm that was caused by this offense," Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Diggs said at Trelha's sentencing, after he entered a guilty plea to one count of felony access device fraud.
A sentencing memorandum submitted by Trelha's attorney includes a letter by a person named "Leide Santos," claiming to be Trelha's girlfriend. She described Trelha as a former flight attendant involved in a construction business in Florida and said he was "dedicated to his son" in Brazil.
"Leide Santos" described starting a business with Trelha in Florida, but CBS News was unable to locate records listing either name in Florida's Division of Corporations database. CBS News was unable to locate or contact anyone named "Leide Santos" who fit her description. There is no indication "Leide Santos" and In the early evening on April 17, 2017, a Chase Bank security officer in Seattle watched through an ATM's camera as a man approached and removed a card-skimming device.
Moments later, police officers pounced, arresting the man, Gustavo Ribeiro Trelha, then an Orlando, Florida, resident. The case would lead to a guilty plea and Trelha's deportation back to his native Brazil. It also led an investigator — for reasons still not entirely clear — to George Santos, the future New York congressman.
With each passing day, new revelations have emerged about the murky past of the freshman Republican, who was elected in November 2022 from a New York district that encompasses parts of Queens and Long Island. Despite glaring misstatements on his resume, Santos has vowed to hang onto his seat even as fresh discoveries about his past emerge. His election was the subject of a recent CBS Reports documentary, "Campaign of Deceit."
Reports have indicated law enforcement agencies have been looking into the financing of his campaign, his stewardship of a pet charity and his work for a company that was later ensnared in a Ponzi scheme probe. Santos has denied all allegations of wrongdoing in those cases.
CBS News has now learned of yet another curious wrinkle — the surfacing of Santos' name during a 2017 credit-card skimming and identity-theft probe in Washington state.
The defendant in the case, Trelha, cooperated that evening with detectives, allowing them to search his rental car. Inside they found an empty FedEx package with a sender address in Winter Park, Florida, according to the police report. The address was one of George Santos' former residences.
Six months earlier, in October 2016, a ticket for failing to stop at a red light in Florida was issued to Santos, listing the same Winter Park address. It's unclear if the address led investigators to Santos, or if he was ever a suspect in the credit card investigation, but a law enforcement source confirmed he was interviewed as part of the probe.
One acquaintance of Santos told CBS News he claimed in 2020 to have served as a confidential informant in the case, but she now questions whether that was true.
Trelha would later claim he was paid $100 per day by a group based in Brazil and Florida to place and remove card skimmers, according to court documents. In his hotel room in SeaTac, Washington, detectives found another skimming device, three modified ATM cameras, identification bearing a pseudonym — Matos Fontinele — and 10 fraudulent cards linked to stolen numbers.
Prosecutors said they had evidence Trelha compromised nearly 300 accounts with the card skimmer in just three days in Seattle. They said each night Trelha uploaded skimmed account information to a "cloud" service, where the Brazilian group could access the information. Calling the operation "sophisticated," a prosecutor said they believed it was just "the tip of the iceberg," according to a court transcript. Trelha was sentenced to time served, having already spent more than seven months in jail, and was then turned over to immigration authorities.
"We don't really know, frankly, the full extent and the full harm that was caused by this offense," Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Diggs said at Trelha's sentencing, after he entered a guilty plea to one count of felony access device fraud.
A sentencing memorandum submitted by Trelha's attorney includes a letter by a person named "Leide Santos," claiming to be Trelha's girlfriend. She described Trelha as a former flight attendant involved in a construction business in Florida and said he was "dedicated to his son" in Brazil.
"Leide Santos" described starting a business with Trelha in Florida, but CBS News was unable to locate records listing either name in Florida's Division of Corporations database. CBS News was unable to locate or contact anyone named "Leide Santos" who fit her description. There is no indication "Leide Santos" and George Santos are related.
She learned of the episode while providing Santos with advice, as a friend, on a different legal matter, a Pennsylvania warrant related to bounced checks. Politico reported that the Pennsylvania case led to a theft charge, but Santos claimed his checkbook had been stolen, and the charge was later expunged.
"He believed that the warrant had something to do with a prior incident where he was an informant for the Seattle Police Department, for, you know, a fraudulent kind of ring of, like, credit-card making and things like that," Bogosian said during a January interview with CBS News.
The Seattle Police Department did not reply to a request for comment.
Bogosian provided CBS News with an email she sent in February 2020 to a Pennsylvania state trooper and a Seattle detective in which she described Santos' alleged portrayal of his contact with that detective.
Santos claimed he "was a liaison/informant to his office on a case against a defendant in Washington (Gustavo Ribeiro) and at least three other defendants in the State of Florida, who were committing identity theft and perpetrating frauds as part of a conspiracy ring," Bogosian wrote, adding that she was supplying information to the detective provided "by [Santos'] 2017 roommate, a person only known as 'Sydney Lima.'"
CBS News has been unable to contact "Sydney Lima" or confirm that this individual exists.
_________________
Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity
It is Autism Acceptance Month
“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman
ASPartOfMe
Veteran
Joined: 25 Aug 2013
Age: 66
Gender: Male
Posts: 34,494
Location: Long Island, New York
20 Feb 2023, 7:53 pm
George Santos tells Piers Morgan: I've been a terrible liar
Quote:
Congressman George Santos has admitted to having been "a terrible liar" when confronted with his embellished résumé in a new TV interview.
The embattled Republican told TalkTV's Piers Morgan he had made mistakes under pressure but his lies were not about "tricking the people".
Instead, he said, it was about "getting accepted by the party here locally".
Mr Santos has faced fierce controversy since his election in November.
Speaking to Piers Morgan on Monday, Mr Santos said one of his "biggest regrets in life" was lying about obtaining a college education.
Asked why he had chosen to do so, Mr Santos said: "Expectation on society, the pressure, couldn't afford it.
"Decided I wanted to run for office, although I had built a very credible business career, but I just didn't have that part of my biography."
"I just went with it, if you are going to make up a lie, are you thinking at all?" he added.
Mr Santos pointed out that he had run for the same Congressional seat in 2020 "and I got away with it then".
He reiterated his claim that he had never said he was Jewish, and repeated what he described as a "party-favourite joke" by describing himself as "Jew-ish".
Challenged over a claim that his mother was in the South Tower of the World Trade Centre in New York City on 9/11, Mr Santos said: "That's true."
"I won't debate my mother's life as she's passed in [2016] and it's quite insensitive to try to rehash my mother's legacy," he said.
He added: "She wasn't one to mislead me... I stay convinced that's the truth."
The 34-year-old, who has faced calls from within his party to resign, was asked about the experience of the scrutiny he has come under.
"It's uncomfortable," he said. "I can't stand it and a lot of people think I love it, I just can't stand it... you need to learn how to deal with it and that's what I'm doing."
Asked about an apology, Mr Santos said: "I have looked inside a camera and said sorry... If you can ask for forgiveness, I think that is the first step."
On whether he would have wanted to run for office knowing the pressure that would follow, Mr Santos said simply: "Absolutely not."
The embattled Republican told TalkTV's Piers Morgan he had made mistakes under pressure but his lies were not about "tricking the people".
Instead, he said, it was about "getting accepted by the party here locally".
Mr Santos has faced fierce controversy since his election in November.
Speaking to Piers Morgan on Monday, Mr Santos said one of his "biggest regrets in life" was lying about obtaining a college education.
Asked why he had chosen to do so, Mr Santos said: "Expectation on society, the pressure, couldn't afford it.
"Decided I wanted to run for office, although I had built a very credible business career, but I just didn't have that part of my biography."
"I just went with it, if you are going to make up a lie, are you thinking at all?" he added.
Mr Santos pointed out that he had run for the same Congressional seat in 2020 "and I got away with it then".
He reiterated his claim that he had never said he was Jewish, and repeated what he described as a "party-favourite joke" by describing himself as "Jew-ish".
Challenged over a claim that his mother was in the South Tower of the World Trade Centre in New York City on 9/11, Mr Santos said: "That's true."
"I won't debate my mother's life as she's passed in [2016] and it's quite insensitive to try to rehash my mother's legacy," he said.
He added: "She wasn't one to mislead me... I stay convinced that's the truth."
The 34-year-old, who has faced calls from within his party to resign, was asked about the experience of the scrutiny he has come under.
"It's uncomfortable," he said. "I can't stand it and a lot of people think I love it, I just can't stand it... you need to learn how to deal with it and that's what I'm doing."
Asked about an apology, Mr Santos said: "I have looked inside a camera and said sorry... If you can ask for forgiveness, I think that is the first step."
On whether he would have wanted to run for office knowing the pressure that would follow, Mr Santos said simply: "Absolutely not."
_________________
Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity
It is Autism Acceptance Month
“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman
ASPartOfMe
Veteran
Joined: 25 Aug 2013
Age: 66
Gender: Male
Posts: 34,494
Location: Long Island, New York
25 Feb 2023, 2:41 am
Politics George Santos falsely claimed in court that he worked for Goldman Sachs, audio reveals
Quote:
In audio from a 2017 court appearance at a bail hearing for a "family friend," George Santos can be heard telling a Seattle judge, "I'm an aspiring politician and I work for Goldman Sachs."
The first part was true — five years later, Santos would be indeed be gainfully employed as a politician, representing New York's 3rd Congressional District. But it is now widely known that the second part was not. He never worked for the famous investment firm.
"You work for Goldman Sachs in New York?" the judge asked.
"Yup," Santos said. In the audio, which was first obtained by Politico, Santos appears to address the court without being sworn in.
In audio from a 2017 court appearance at a bail hearing for a "family friend," George Santos can be heard telling a Seattle judge, "I'm an aspiring politician and I work for Goldman Sachs."
The first part was true — five years later, Santos would be indeed be gainfully employed as a politician, representing New York's 3rd Congressional District. But it is now widely known that the second part was not. He never worked for the famous investment firm.
"You work for Goldman Sachs in New York?" the judge asked.
"Yup," Santos said. In the audio, which was first obtained by Politico, Santos appears to address the court without being sworn in.
The false claim during an obscure Seattle, Washington, arraignment hearing was an early glimpse of a lie Santos would continue to spread as he campaigned for Congress in 2020 and 2022. He claimed to be a Goldman Sachs banker on the stump in New York and on a resumé released in January by the local GOP, along with other debunked claims about graduating from college and working elsewhere on Wall Street. Santos admitted in a December New York Post interview that he "never worked directly" for the firm.
The newly uncovered recording of his court appearance was also a reminder of how little is known about his connection to a man at the center of a wide-ranging credit card fraud case that involved stealing peoples' ATM card information and delivering it to Brazilian accomplices. Santos has declined to answer questions about the case. Representatives of Santos did not return a request for comment about the audio.
Santos was appearing at a May 15, 2017 bail hearing for Gustavo Ribeiro Trelha, a Brazilian national who was arrested the month before for installing a skimming device on an ATM.
Beyond that, only a patchwork of details have emerged that connect Santos, tangentially, to the Trelha case.
Santos was interviewed as part of the investigation, a law enforcement source confirmed to CBS News. The source said Santos was contacted because inside Trelha's rental car detectives found an empty FedEx package with a sender address matching a Florida apartment where Santos had recently lived, according to police records, including an evidence photo of the package obtained by CBS News.
"There obviously was not enough evidence to associate Santos as an accomplice to the skimming case," the source said. Santos was not charged in the case, nor was he a suspect.
At Trelha's bail hearing, Santos identified himself as a "family friend" who was helping him to arrange "a long extended-stay apartment through Airbnb, or whatever website."
"We're family friends. Our parents know each other from Brazil," Santos said.
King County Superior Court Judge Sean O'Donnell reduced Trelha's bail from $250,000 to $75,000, a sum Trelha was still unable to post. His case was later moved to federal court, where he entered a guilty plea to one count of felony access device fraud.
Trelha told investigators he was working for a credit card fraud group based in Brazil and Florida. Prosecutors said they had evidence Trelha had compromised nearly 300 accounts with the card skimmer in just three days in Seattle.
Calling the operation "sophisticated," a prosecutor said investigators believed it was just "the tip of the iceberg," according to a court transcript. Trelha was sentenced to time served, having already spent more than seven months in jail and was then turned over to immigration authorities.
The first part was true — five years later, Santos would be indeed be gainfully employed as a politician, representing New York's 3rd Congressional District. But it is now widely known that the second part was not. He never worked for the famous investment firm.
"You work for Goldman Sachs in New York?" the judge asked.
"Yup," Santos said. In the audio, which was first obtained by Politico, Santos appears to address the court without being sworn in.
In audio from a 2017 court appearance at a bail hearing for a "family friend," George Santos can be heard telling a Seattle judge, "I'm an aspiring politician and I work for Goldman Sachs."
The first part was true — five years later, Santos would be indeed be gainfully employed as a politician, representing New York's 3rd Congressional District. But it is now widely known that the second part was not. He never worked for the famous investment firm.
"You work for Goldman Sachs in New York?" the judge asked.
"Yup," Santos said. In the audio, which was first obtained by Politico, Santos appears to address the court without being sworn in.
The false claim during an obscure Seattle, Washington, arraignment hearing was an early glimpse of a lie Santos would continue to spread as he campaigned for Congress in 2020 and 2022. He claimed to be a Goldman Sachs banker on the stump in New York and on a resumé released in January by the local GOP, along with other debunked claims about graduating from college and working elsewhere on Wall Street. Santos admitted in a December New York Post interview that he "never worked directly" for the firm.
The newly uncovered recording of his court appearance was also a reminder of how little is known about his connection to a man at the center of a wide-ranging credit card fraud case that involved stealing peoples' ATM card information and delivering it to Brazilian accomplices. Santos has declined to answer questions about the case. Representatives of Santos did not return a request for comment about the audio.
Santos was appearing at a May 15, 2017 bail hearing for Gustavo Ribeiro Trelha, a Brazilian national who was arrested the month before for installing a skimming device on an ATM.
Beyond that, only a patchwork of details have emerged that connect Santos, tangentially, to the Trelha case.
Santos was interviewed as part of the investigation, a law enforcement source confirmed to CBS News. The source said Santos was contacted because inside Trelha's rental car detectives found an empty FedEx package with a sender address matching a Florida apartment where Santos had recently lived, according to police records, including an evidence photo of the package obtained by CBS News.
"There obviously was not enough evidence to associate Santos as an accomplice to the skimming case," the source said. Santos was not charged in the case, nor was he a suspect.
At Trelha's bail hearing, Santos identified himself as a "family friend" who was helping him to arrange "a long extended-stay apartment through Airbnb, or whatever website."
"We're family friends. Our parents know each other from Brazil," Santos said.
King County Superior Court Judge Sean O'Donnell reduced Trelha's bail from $250,000 to $75,000, a sum Trelha was still unable to post. His case was later moved to federal court, where he entered a guilty plea to one count of felony access device fraud.
Trelha told investigators he was working for a credit card fraud group based in Brazil and Florida. Prosecutors said they had evidence Trelha had compromised nearly 300 accounts with the card skimmer in just three days in Seattle.
Calling the operation "sophisticated," a prosecutor said investigators believed it was just "the tip of the iceberg," according to a court transcript. Trelha was sentenced to time served, having already spent more than seven months in jail and was then turned over to immigration authorities.
Rep. George Santos backs bill to make AR-15 assault rifle the "national gun of the United States"
Quote:
Long Island Congressman George Santos has stunned the New York political establishment by backing a bill to make the AR-15 assault rifle the "national gun of the United States."
Gov. Kathy Hochul calls the move "disgusting."
As CBS2 political reporter Marcia Kramer reports, you'd think that with all the controversy surrounding his election, Santos would try to keep a low profile in Washington and try to impress his leery constituents with his legislative prowess. But just when you expected him to zig, he zagged and fell into the open arms of the far right wing.
Hochul slammed Santos for deciding that one of the first legislative acts as a new member of Congress would be to sponsor a bill to make the AR-15 asault weapon the national weapon of the U.S. That's the very weapon used to kill 10 people in a racist mass shooting in Buffalo.
Of course, Hochul shouldn't be surprised. Santos has been proudly sporting an AR-15 lapel pin during much of his time in Washington.
The bill was introduced by Alabama Congressman Barry Moore. Co-sponsors, along with Santos, are Congressman Andrew Clyde, a gun store owner from Georgia, and Colorado Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, who ran a gun-themed restaurant called Shooters Grill.
He got into another tiff about truthfulness with Nassau County legislator Josh Lafazan.
In a tweet, Santos thanked Lafazan for "stopping by his office."
Lafazan responded, "Let's be very clear: I did not 'stop by' your office. I hosted a protest outside your office calling on you to resign, and then hand-delivered you a letter to stop wasting police resources. Can't say I'm surprised you choose to distort the truth here - you're very good at it."
CBS2's Ali Bauman spoke to a Long Island mother whose son was killed in the Parkland, Florida, mass shooting.
Linda Beigel Schulman keeps the image of her son's last breath on display in her Long Island office, and she asked we share it with our audience.
Gov. Kathy Hochul calls the move "disgusting."
As CBS2 political reporter Marcia Kramer reports, you'd think that with all the controversy surrounding his election, Santos would try to keep a low profile in Washington and try to impress his leery constituents with his legislative prowess. But just when you expected him to zig, he zagged and fell into the open arms of the far right wing.
Hochul slammed Santos for deciding that one of the first legislative acts as a new member of Congress would be to sponsor a bill to make the AR-15 asault weapon the national weapon of the U.S. That's the very weapon used to kill 10 people in a racist mass shooting in Buffalo.
Of course, Hochul shouldn't be surprised. Santos has been proudly sporting an AR-15 lapel pin during much of his time in Washington.
The bill was introduced by Alabama Congressman Barry Moore. Co-sponsors, along with Santos, are Congressman Andrew Clyde, a gun store owner from Georgia, and Colorado Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, who ran a gun-themed restaurant called Shooters Grill.
He got into another tiff about truthfulness with Nassau County legislator Josh Lafazan.
In a tweet, Santos thanked Lafazan for "stopping by his office."
Lafazan responded, "Let's be very clear: I did not 'stop by' your office. I hosted a protest outside your office calling on you to resign, and then hand-delivered you a letter to stop wasting police resources. Can't say I'm surprised you choose to distort the truth here - you're very good at it."
CBS2's Ali Bauman spoke to a Long Island mother whose son was killed in the Parkland, Florida, mass shooting.
Linda Beigel Schulman keeps the image of her son's last breath on display in her Long Island office, and she asked we share it with our audience.
_________________
Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity
It is Autism Acceptance Month
“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman
ASPartOfMe
Veteran
Joined: 25 Aug 2013
Age: 66
Gender: Male
Posts: 34,494
Location: Long Island, New York
25 Feb 2023, 10:34 pm
George Santos was questioned by U.S. Secret Service in 2017 credit card fraud probe
Quote:
When George Santos' Florida address was found in 2017 inside a rental car used by the suspect in an ATM skimming investigation, the United States Secret Service came knocking.
Investigators from the agency located Santos in New York City, the future congressman's hometown, where they interviewed him as part of a probe into international credit card fraud, according to two sources familiar with the federal investigation. The Secret Service conducts investigations into crimes against the financial system that have a national scope.
Santos voluntarily surrendered two cellphones at the Secret Service's New York field office, where the interview took place, according to the two sources familiar with the investigation. While Santos's connection to the case remains unclear, and the case remains open, he was not identified as a suspect of the investigation, the two sources told CBS News.
Investigators from the agency located Santos in New York City, the future congressman's hometown, where they interviewed him as part of a probe into international credit card fraud, according to two sources familiar with the federal investigation. The Secret Service conducts investigations into crimes against the financial system that have a national scope.
Santos voluntarily surrendered two cellphones at the Secret Service's New York field office, where the interview took place, according to the two sources familiar with the investigation. While Santos's connection to the case remains unclear, and the case remains open, he was not identified as a suspect of the investigation, the two sources told CBS News.
_________________
Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity
It is Autism Acceptance Month
“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman
ASPartOfMe
Veteran
Joined: 25 Aug 2013
Age: 66
Gender: Male
Posts: 34,494
Location: Long Island, New York
02 Mar 2023, 2:59 pm
House ethics panel opens investigation of Rep. George Santos on range of issues
Quote:
The House ethics committee said Thursday that it has appointed a subcommittee to investigate embattled Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., for a range of potential ethical violations.
That subcommittee will probe whether Santos engaged in unlawful activity in his 2022 congressional campaign and “failed to properly disclose required information on statements filed with the House,” a news release said.
The panel also will examine whether Santos violated federal conflict of interest laws related to his work for a financial firm, and whether he “engaged in sexual misconduct towards an individual seeking employment in his congressional office,” the release said.
In a tweet from his official Twitter account, Santos wrote, “The House Committee on Ethics has opened an investigation, and Congressman George Santos is fully cooperating. There will be no further comment made at this time.”
Rep. David Joyce, an Ohio Republican, was tapped to serve as chair of the investigative subcommittee by the House Committee on Ethics, which unanimously approved the panel’s creation on Tuesday, the news release said.
Rep. Susan Wild of Pennsylvania will serve as the panel’s ranking Democrat.
That subcommittee will probe whether Santos engaged in unlawful activity in his 2022 congressional campaign and “failed to properly disclose required information on statements filed with the House,” a news release said.
The panel also will examine whether Santos violated federal conflict of interest laws related to his work for a financial firm, and whether he “engaged in sexual misconduct towards an individual seeking employment in his congressional office,” the release said.
In a tweet from his official Twitter account, Santos wrote, “The House Committee on Ethics has opened an investigation, and Congressman George Santos is fully cooperating. There will be no further comment made at this time.”
Rep. David Joyce, an Ohio Republican, was tapped to serve as chair of the investigative subcommittee by the House Committee on Ethics, which unanimously approved the panel’s creation on Tuesday, the news release said.
Rep. Susan Wild of Pennsylvania will serve as the panel’s ranking Democrat.
_________________
Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity
It is Autism Acceptance Month
“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman
ASPartOfMe
Veteran
Joined: 25 Aug 2013
Age: 66
Gender: Male
Posts: 34,494
Location: Long Island, New York
10 Mar 2023, 5:11 pm
George Santos masterminded 2017 ATM fraud, former roommate tells feds
Quote:
Rep. George Santos orchestrated a 2017 credit card skimming operation in Seattle, the man who was convicted of the fraud and deported to Brazil said in a sworn declaration submitted to federal authorities Wednesday.
“I am coming forward today to declare that the person in charge of the crime of credit card fraud when I was arrested was George Santos / Anthony Devolder,” Gustavo Ribeiro Trelha wrote in the declaration. It was sent by express mail and email to the FBI, the U.S. Secret Service New York office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of New York, according to a copy of the receipt from the United States Postal Service.
Telha decided to contact law enforcement officials after seeing the newly minted congressman on television, he said in the declaration.
He was previously questioned about the Seattle scheme by investigators for the U.S. Secret Service, CBS News has reported. He was never charged, but the investigation remains open. Santos also told an attorney friend he was “an informant” in the fraud case. Trelha insists he was its mastermind.
“Santos taught me how to skim card information and how to clone cards. He gave me all the materials and taught me how to put skimming devices and cameras on ATM machines,” Trelha said in the declaration that was submitted to authorities by his New York attorney, Mark Demetropoulos. POLITICO obtained a copy of the declaration.
Spokespeople for the FBI did not return messages. Representatives for the Secret Service and the U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment.
A lawyer for Santos also did not respond to emails and text messages for comment.
Trelha and Santos met in the fall of 2016 on a Facebook group for Brazilians living in Orlando, Fla., he said in the declaration and in an interview with POLITICO. By November, Trelha had rented a room in Santos’ Winter Park, Fla., apartment, according to a copy of the lease viewed by POLITICO.
“That is when and where I learned from him how to clone ATM and credit cards,” Trelha wrote in the declaration that was translated from his native Portuguese.
Santos kept a warehouse on Kirkman Road in Orlando to store the skimming equipment, according to the declaration.
“He had a lot of material — parts, printers, blank ATM and credit cards to be painted and engraved with stolen account and personal information.
“Santos gave me at his warehouse, some of the parts to illegally skim credit card information. Right after he gave me the card skimming and cloning machines, he taught me how to use them,” Trelha wrote.
Trelha then flew out to Seattle where he was caught on a security camera removing a skimming device from a Chase ATM on Pike Street, according to law enforcement records. He was arrested on April 27.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle previously told POLITICO it’s not unusual for credit card thieves to go far from home to nab numbers so there’s less chance of the stolen numbers being traced back to the perpetrators. That spokesperson, Emily Langlie, said she didn’t have any information about Santos’ involvement in the Trelha case.
Trelha told federal authorities in the declaration Wednesday that his “deal with Santos was 50% for him and 50% for me.”
“We used a computer to be able to download the information on the pieces. We also used an external hard drive to save the filming, because the skimmer took the information from the card, and the camera took the password,” he wrote.
“It didn’t work out so well, because I was arrested,” he admitted.
Trelha said Santos visited him in jail in Seattle, but told him not to implicate him in the scheme.
“Santos threatened my friends in Florida that I must not say that he was my boss,” he wrote.
Trelha agreed to say he was working for someone in Brazil and not with Santos, because he was worried Santos would have his friends in Orlando deported, he said in a telephone interview last month. Trelha recalled Santos warning he could “make things worse for him” since he was already in jail and Santos was a U.S. citizen.
“I am coming forward today to declare that the person in charge of the crime of credit card fraud when I was arrested was George Santos / Anthony Devolder,” Gustavo Ribeiro Trelha wrote in the declaration. It was sent by express mail and email to the FBI, the U.S. Secret Service New York office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of New York, according to a copy of the receipt from the United States Postal Service.
Telha decided to contact law enforcement officials after seeing the newly minted congressman on television, he said in the declaration.
He was previously questioned about the Seattle scheme by investigators for the U.S. Secret Service, CBS News has reported. He was never charged, but the investigation remains open. Santos also told an attorney friend he was “an informant” in the fraud case. Trelha insists he was its mastermind.
“Santos taught me how to skim card information and how to clone cards. He gave me all the materials and taught me how to put skimming devices and cameras on ATM machines,” Trelha said in the declaration that was submitted to authorities by his New York attorney, Mark Demetropoulos. POLITICO obtained a copy of the declaration.
Spokespeople for the FBI did not return messages. Representatives for the Secret Service and the U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment.
A lawyer for Santos also did not respond to emails and text messages for comment.
Trelha and Santos met in the fall of 2016 on a Facebook group for Brazilians living in Orlando, Fla., he said in the declaration and in an interview with POLITICO. By November, Trelha had rented a room in Santos’ Winter Park, Fla., apartment, according to a copy of the lease viewed by POLITICO.
“That is when and where I learned from him how to clone ATM and credit cards,” Trelha wrote in the declaration that was translated from his native Portuguese.
Santos kept a warehouse on Kirkman Road in Orlando to store the skimming equipment, according to the declaration.
“He had a lot of material — parts, printers, blank ATM and credit cards to be painted and engraved with stolen account and personal information.
“Santos gave me at his warehouse, some of the parts to illegally skim credit card information. Right after he gave me the card skimming and cloning machines, he taught me how to use them,” Trelha wrote.
Trelha then flew out to Seattle where he was caught on a security camera removing a skimming device from a Chase ATM on Pike Street, according to law enforcement records. He was arrested on April 27.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle previously told POLITICO it’s not unusual for credit card thieves to go far from home to nab numbers so there’s less chance of the stolen numbers being traced back to the perpetrators. That spokesperson, Emily Langlie, said she didn’t have any information about Santos’ involvement in the Trelha case.
Trelha told federal authorities in the declaration Wednesday that his “deal with Santos was 50% for him and 50% for me.”
“We used a computer to be able to download the information on the pieces. We also used an external hard drive to save the filming, because the skimmer took the information from the card, and the camera took the password,” he wrote.
“It didn’t work out so well, because I was arrested,” he admitted.
Trelha said Santos visited him in jail in Seattle, but told him not to implicate him in the scheme.
“Santos threatened my friends in Florida that I must not say that he was my boss,” he wrote.
Trelha agreed to say he was working for someone in Brazil and not with Santos, because he was worried Santos would have his friends in Orlando deported, he said in a telephone interview last month. Trelha recalled Santos warning he could “make things worse for him” since he was already in jail and Santos was a U.S. citizen.
_________________
Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity
It is Autism Acceptance Month
“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman
ASPartOfMe
Veteran
Joined: 25 Aug 2013
Age: 66
Gender: Male
Posts: 34,494
Location: Long Island, New York
14 Mar 2023, 5:55 pm
George Santos files paperwork indicating he will run for reelection in 2024
Quote:
Embattled New York Rep. George Santos signaled he intends to run for reelection in 2024, filing paperwork on Tuesday with the Federal Election Commission.
The statement of candidacy does not mean Santos, who is facing ethics and criminal inquiries, will run for reelection, but it does allow the first-term Republican congressman to raise money.
Santos' statement of candidacy filed Tuesday says he does not intend to use personal funds for his potential bid.
The statement of candidacy does not mean Santos, who is facing ethics and criminal inquiries, will run for reelection, but it does allow the first-term Republican congressman to raise money.
Santos' statement of candidacy filed Tuesday says he does not intend to use personal funds for his potential bid.
_________________
Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity
It is Autism Acceptance Month
“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman
15 Mar 2023, 10:12 am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQ5F7fv ... ndyRainbow
_________________
May you be blessed by YHWH and his Asherah
ASPartOfMe
Veteran
Joined: 25 Aug 2013
Age: 66
Gender: Male
Posts: 34,494
Location: Long Island, New York
18 Apr 2023, 1:26 am
It's true: Rep. George Santos announces his bid for reelection
Quote:
U.S. Rep. George Santos, the New York Republican whose lies about his background and wealth helped propel him into office, announced Monday that he's running for reelection.
More than perhaps any incumbent, Santos enters the race as an underdog — abandoned by many fellow Republicans while facing investigations over a myriad of allegations about falsehoods during his last campaign.
In his campaign announcement, Santos didn't mention any of that and instead highlighted his zeal in fighting for conservative principals in Washington and his background as "a poor boy of immigrant parents in Queens."
"We need a fighter who knows the district and can serve the people fearlessly," he said.
More than perhaps any incumbent, Santos enters the race as an underdog — abandoned by many fellow Republicans while facing investigations over a myriad of allegations about falsehoods during his last campaign.
In his campaign announcement, Santos didn't mention any of that and instead highlighted his zeal in fighting for conservative principals in Washington and his background as "a poor boy of immigrant parents in Queens."
"We need a fighter who knows the district and can serve the people fearlessly," he said.
Why is George Santos running for re-election? Campaign finance experts offer some theories
Quote:
Queens and Long Island Rep. George Santos is officially running again. While he faces steep odds – having lied to voters about a number of points in his life story– donors of his reelection campaign could help him fend off legal fees as several investigations into his actions continue.
“Good isn’t good enough, and I’m not shy about doing what it takes to get the job done,” Santos said on Monday, in a statement on Twitter. “I’m proud to announce my candidacy to run for re-election and continue to serve the people of NY-3.”
But some election experts argue his bid for reelection could be a way to secure additional sources of financing as investigations into his conduct continue.
“The motivations can range from he really wants to vindicate himself to continuing to raise money to cover some of the costs to responding to some of these investigations, and he can only do that as a candidate,” said Daniel I. Weiner, director of elections, government and democracy at the Brennan Center for Justice.
Few restrictions apply to how campaign funds can be used. With the exception of directly using money from campaign donors for personal use – like purchasing a car or new clothes – it could be used for running ads or legal fees for investigations into his candidacy.
Recent data filed with the Federal Election Commission show Santos’ campaign received just over $5,000 in new contributions in the first three months of 2023. However, his campaign returnedover $8,000 to donors during the same time period.
Polls show Santos is unpopular among voters in his district. He’s faced protests, and even members of his own party, including the Nassau County Republicans, have called on him to resign.
His announcement did not resonate well with residents within his district, including those that live just minutes away from his district office in Queens. Sean Holohan, a resident who did not identify his party affiliation, said he plans to vote in the next election, but will not be voting for Santos.
“Democrat or Republican, someone needs to replace him,” he said.
Nassau County legislator, Josh Lafazan, a Democrat, led a press conference outside of Santos’ office on Monday, hours before Santos officially announced his reelection campaign.
“He has the audacity to announce that he is going to run for re-election,” Lafazan said. “Quite frankly, it’s inexcusable that the law enforcement investigations are taking this long.”
“Good isn’t good enough, and I’m not shy about doing what it takes to get the job done,” Santos said on Monday, in a statement on Twitter. “I’m proud to announce my candidacy to run for re-election and continue to serve the people of NY-3.”
But some election experts argue his bid for reelection could be a way to secure additional sources of financing as investigations into his conduct continue.
“The motivations can range from he really wants to vindicate himself to continuing to raise money to cover some of the costs to responding to some of these investigations, and he can only do that as a candidate,” said Daniel I. Weiner, director of elections, government and democracy at the Brennan Center for Justice.
Few restrictions apply to how campaign funds can be used. With the exception of directly using money from campaign donors for personal use – like purchasing a car or new clothes – it could be used for running ads or legal fees for investigations into his candidacy.
Recent data filed with the Federal Election Commission show Santos’ campaign received just over $5,000 in new contributions in the first three months of 2023. However, his campaign returnedover $8,000 to donors during the same time period.
Polls show Santos is unpopular among voters in his district. He’s faced protests, and even members of his own party, including the Nassau County Republicans, have called on him to resign.
His announcement did not resonate well with residents within his district, including those that live just minutes away from his district office in Queens. Sean Holohan, a resident who did not identify his party affiliation, said he plans to vote in the next election, but will not be voting for Santos.
“Democrat or Republican, someone needs to replace him,” he said.
Nassau County legislator, Josh Lafazan, a Democrat, led a press conference outside of Santos’ office on Monday, hours before Santos officially announced his reelection campaign.
“He has the audacity to announce that he is going to run for re-election,” Lafazan said. “Quite frankly, it’s inexcusable that the law enforcement investigations are taking this long.”
_________________
Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity
It is Autism Acceptance Month
“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman
ASPartOfMe
Veteran
Joined: 25 Aug 2013
Age: 66
Gender: Male
Posts: 34,494
Location: Long Island, New York
21 Apr 2023, 5:48 pm
George Santos failed to share money from joint fundraiser, GOP congresswoman says
Behind a paywall
Quote:
Rep. George Santos failed to share any of the proceeds of a joint fundraiser he held in New York last year with Texas Republican Rep. Beth Van Duyne, her campaign manager said this week.
Santos (R-Nassau/Queens), who was elected in November, reported to the Federal Election Commission in October that a joint committee sponsoring the event raised $11,600 from two Long Island donors and split funds equally between Van Duyne and him.
But Van Duyne campaign spokesman Chris Homan told The Dallas Morning News in a story published Monday: “With regard to the donations, the Beth Van Duyne campaign did not receive a distribution of funds following the New York trip.”
Homan said the Devolder Santos Van Duyne Victory Committee was set up for a single New York trip by Van Duyne and that it has not been used since or will not be in the future. Van Duyne’s campaign fund did not report any proceeds from the event in its FEC filings.
The joint fundraising committee, set up by Santos’ treasurer at the time, Nancy Marks, reported to the FEC on Oct. 15 that Josh Eisen, a consultant who lives in Harrison, and Virginia Knott, a retiree who lives in Mill Neck, each contributed $5,800 to the committee on Aug. 15.
The committee reported it spent $2,033.33 on expenses that included use of the Capital Grille in Garden City, and then gave Van Duyne and Santos each $4,783.
Both the former and current treasurer of the joint fundraising committee have filed reports seeking to terminate its operation.
Neither Homan nor other Van Duyne campaign officials responded to Newsday requests for comment.
Meanwhile, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) may be protecting Santos from efforts by some members of Congress to expel him but new campaign filings show McCarthy is not going out of his way to help Santos win reelection.
In papers filed with the FEC Tuesday, McCarthy set up a joint fundraising committee, called Protect the House New York 2024, which will help raise money to reelect the New York Republicans whose victories in 2022 gave their party the majority in the House.
Among the beneficiaries of the new committee are first-term Long Island Republican congressmen Anthony D'Esposito of Island Park, who flipped a seat long held by Democrats, and Nick LaLota of Amityville, along with Andrew Garbarino of Bayport. Santos is not included.
Santos (R-Nassau/Queens), who was elected in November, reported to the Federal Election Commission in October that a joint committee sponsoring the event raised $11,600 from two Long Island donors and split funds equally between Van Duyne and him.
But Van Duyne campaign spokesman Chris Homan told The Dallas Morning News in a story published Monday: “With regard to the donations, the Beth Van Duyne campaign did not receive a distribution of funds following the New York trip.”
Homan said the Devolder Santos Van Duyne Victory Committee was set up for a single New York trip by Van Duyne and that it has not been used since or will not be in the future. Van Duyne’s campaign fund did not report any proceeds from the event in its FEC filings.
The joint fundraising committee, set up by Santos’ treasurer at the time, Nancy Marks, reported to the FEC on Oct. 15 that Josh Eisen, a consultant who lives in Harrison, and Virginia Knott, a retiree who lives in Mill Neck, each contributed $5,800 to the committee on Aug. 15.
The committee reported it spent $2,033.33 on expenses that included use of the Capital Grille in Garden City, and then gave Van Duyne and Santos each $4,783.
Both the former and current treasurer of the joint fundraising committee have filed reports seeking to terminate its operation.
Neither Homan nor other Van Duyne campaign officials responded to Newsday requests for comment.
Meanwhile, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) may be protecting Santos from efforts by some members of Congress to expel him but new campaign filings show McCarthy is not going out of his way to help Santos win reelection.
In papers filed with the FEC Tuesday, McCarthy set up a joint fundraising committee, called Protect the House New York 2024, which will help raise money to reelect the New York Republicans whose victories in 2022 gave their party the majority in the House.
Among the beneficiaries of the new committee are first-term Long Island Republican congressmen Anthony D'Esposito of Island Park, who flipped a seat long held by Democrats, and Nick LaLota of Amityville, along with Andrew Garbarino of Bayport. Santos is not included.
_________________
Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity
It is Autism Acceptance Month
“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman
ASPartOfMe
Veteran
Joined: 25 Aug 2013
Age: 66
Gender: Male
Posts: 34,494
Location: Long Island, New York
14 Jul 2023, 3:44 pm
George Santos’ campaign paid him $85,000 this quarter
Quote:
The campaign of embattled Rep. George Santos, who is facing federal indictment on fraud and money laundering charges, paid the congressmember $85,000 in the second quarter of this year.
Though the New York representative says he is running for reelection, he spent virtually nothing on campaigning.
The payments the campaign made to Santos stemmed from hundreds of thousands of dollars that the congressmember previously loaned to his campaign. Those loans had sparked questions about how Santos had so much money to lend his political efforts. Previous reports with the Federal Election Commission indicated Santos had loaned the campaign $715,000, although his latest report indicated he was now owed only $530,000.
The loan repayments accounted for more than 60 percent of the $133,000 that Santos reported raising in the second quarter. The first-term congressmember, who lied about much of his biography prior to his election last year, reported having $55,000 cash on hand in his principal campaign committee.
His fundraising was driven primarily by donors who gave the maximum $3,300, his filing shows. Among those who maxed out to the congressmember included individuals who listed their professions as “student” and “housewife” and “parttime job/casher (sic).”
The latest filing with the federal commission also included an unusual note stating that the campaign intended to report accurate totals based on “incomplete” historical data.
Though the New York representative says he is running for reelection, he spent virtually nothing on campaigning.
The payments the campaign made to Santos stemmed from hundreds of thousands of dollars that the congressmember previously loaned to his campaign. Those loans had sparked questions about how Santos had so much money to lend his political efforts. Previous reports with the Federal Election Commission indicated Santos had loaned the campaign $715,000, although his latest report indicated he was now owed only $530,000.
The loan repayments accounted for more than 60 percent of the $133,000 that Santos reported raising in the second quarter. The first-term congressmember, who lied about much of his biography prior to his election last year, reported having $55,000 cash on hand in his principal campaign committee.
His fundraising was driven primarily by donors who gave the maximum $3,300, his filing shows. Among those who maxed out to the congressmember included individuals who listed their professions as “student” and “housewife” and “parttime job/casher (sic).”
The latest filing with the federal commission also included an unusual note stating that the campaign intended to report accurate totals based on “incomplete” historical data.
_________________
Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity
It is Autism Acceptance Month
“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman
ASPartOfMe
Veteran
Joined: 25 Aug 2013
Age: 66
Gender: Male
Posts: 34,494
Location: Long Island, New York
10 Oct 2023, 9:49 pm
Rep. Santos faces new charges he stole donor IDs, made unauthorized charges to their credit cards
Quote:
U.S. Rep. George Santos stole the identities of donors to his campaign and then used their credit cards to ring up tens of thousands of dollars in unauthorized charges, according to a new indictment filed Tuesday.
He then wired some of the money to his own personal bank account, prosecutors said, while using the rest to inflate his campaign coffers.
The 23-count indictment replaces one filed in May against the New York Republican charging him with embezzling money from his campaign and lying to Congress about his wealth, among other offenses.
In the updated indictment, prosecutors accuse Santos of charging more than $44,000 to his campaign over a period of months using cards belonging to contributors without their knowledge. In one case, he charged $12,000 to a contributor’s credit card and transferred the “vast majority” of that money into his personal bank account, prosecutors said.
Santos is also accused of falsely reporting to the Federal Elections Commission that he had loaned his campaign $500,000 when he actually hadn’t given anything and had less than $8,000 in the bank. The fake loan was an attempt to convince Republican Party officials that he was a serious candidate, worth their financial support, the indictment said.
Santos came out of a two-hour Republican conference at the U.S Capitol and told reporters he had no comment on the superseding indictment. “I was in conference like everyone else, without my phone, so I have nothing to say,” he said. He has previously maintained his innocence, claiming he is the victim of a “witch hunt.”
The new charges deepen the legal peril for Santos, who likely faces a lengthy prison term if convicted. So far, he has resisted all calls to resign, insisting he intends to run for reelection next year.
Free on bail while awaiting trial, Santos has described his litany of lies as victimless embellishments, while blaming some of his financial irregularities on his former campaign treasurer, Nancy Marks, who he claims “went rogue.”
Last week, Marks, a longtime Long Island political bookkeeper, pleaded guilty to a fraud conspiracy charge, telling a judge she helped her former boss hoodwink prospective donors and Republican party officials by submitting bogus campaign finance reports.
Tuesday’s indictment said Marks and Santos were involved in the same scheme to fake a $500,000 campaign loan in order to meet a benchmark that would unlock additional support from a Republican Party committee. Santos has now also been charged with recording fake donations from at least 10 people, all his or Marks’ relatives, as part of the same effort to make the campaign look like it hit those fundraising goals.
He then wired some of the money to his own personal bank account, prosecutors said, while using the rest to inflate his campaign coffers.
The 23-count indictment replaces one filed in May against the New York Republican charging him with embezzling money from his campaign and lying to Congress about his wealth, among other offenses.
In the updated indictment, prosecutors accuse Santos of charging more than $44,000 to his campaign over a period of months using cards belonging to contributors without their knowledge. In one case, he charged $12,000 to a contributor’s credit card and transferred the “vast majority” of that money into his personal bank account, prosecutors said.
Santos is also accused of falsely reporting to the Federal Elections Commission that he had loaned his campaign $500,000 when he actually hadn’t given anything and had less than $8,000 in the bank. The fake loan was an attempt to convince Republican Party officials that he was a serious candidate, worth their financial support, the indictment said.
Santos came out of a two-hour Republican conference at the U.S Capitol and told reporters he had no comment on the superseding indictment. “I was in conference like everyone else, without my phone, so I have nothing to say,” he said. He has previously maintained his innocence, claiming he is the victim of a “witch hunt.”
The new charges deepen the legal peril for Santos, who likely faces a lengthy prison term if convicted. So far, he has resisted all calls to resign, insisting he intends to run for reelection next year.
Free on bail while awaiting trial, Santos has described his litany of lies as victimless embellishments, while blaming some of his financial irregularities on his former campaign treasurer, Nancy Marks, who he claims “went rogue.”
Last week, Marks, a longtime Long Island political bookkeeper, pleaded guilty to a fraud conspiracy charge, telling a judge she helped her former boss hoodwink prospective donors and Republican party officials by submitting bogus campaign finance reports.
Tuesday’s indictment said Marks and Santos were involved in the same scheme to fake a $500,000 campaign loan in order to meet a benchmark that would unlock additional support from a Republican Party committee. Santos has now also been charged with recording fake donations from at least 10 people, all his or Marks’ relatives, as part of the same effort to make the campaign look like it hit those fundraising goals.
_________________
Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity
It is Autism Acceptance Month
“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman
| Similar Topics | |
|---|---|
| Newly diagnosed and struggling |
19 Apr 2024, 11:51 pm |
| Life burnout at 31 |
13 Feb 2024, 10:06 am |
| No one's life is a failure. |
02 Mar 2024, 4:35 pm |
| Do you often tell white lies about your life? |
15 Apr 2024, 6:50 pm |
