Afterward, he mentioned he would not drop his reelection bid and defied calls to resign.
Santos, 34, was launched on $USD500,000 ($736,000) bond following his arraignment, about 5 hours after turning himself in to face expenses of wire fraud, cash laundering, theft of public funds and making false statements to Congress.
He surrendered his passport and will resist 20 years in jail if convicted.
“This is the beginning of the ability for me to address and defend myself,” a cheerfully combative Santos told reporters swarming him outside a Long Island federal courthouse.
He said he’s been cooperating with the investigation and vowed to fight the prosecution, which he labeled a “witch hunt”.
His lawyer, Joseph Murray, was more circumspect, saying: “Any time the federal government comes after you it’s a serious case. We have to take this serious.”
Santos mentioned he deliberate to return to Washington, the place the indictment is amplifying doubts in regards to the freshman’s capacity to serve.
House Republican leaders are taking a wait-and-see strategy, saying Santos is harmless till confirmed responsible.
Others are reiterating earlier requires Santos to step apart.
“I think we’re seeing that the wheels of justice grind slow, but they grind fine,” mentioned Senator Mitt Romney, a Utah Republican who confronted Santos on the House ground at President Joe Biden’s State of the Union handle in February.
Asked about Santos on Wednesday, Biden mentioned, “I’m not commenting,” including that something he mentioned could be construed by some interfering within the investigation.
Asked if Congress ought to expel Santos, Biden mentioned, “that’s for Congress to decide”.
Among the allegations, prosecutors say Santos created a company and then induced supporters to donate to it under the false pretense that the money would be used to support his campaign.
Instead, they say, he used the money for personal expenses, including designer clothes and credit card and car payments.
Santos also is accused of lying about his finances on congressional disclosure forms and obtaining unemployment benefits while he was making $USD120,000 ($176,740) as regional director of an investment firm that the government shut down in 2021 over allegations that it was a Ponzi scheme.
The indictment “seeks to hold Santos accountable for various alleged fraudulent schemes and brazen misrepresentations,” US Attorney Breon Peace mentioned.
“Taken together, the allegations in the indictment charge Santos with relying on repeated dishonesty and deception to ascend to the halls of Congress and enrich himself.”
Santos didn’t directly address the specifics of the charges to reporters, but when asked why he received unemployment benefits while employed, Santos cited a job change and confusion during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Santos, sporting his usual crewneck sweater, blazer and khakis, said little during the arraignment, which lasted about 15 minutes.
Reporters spilled from the gallery to the jury box, joined by a handful of constituents.
“He should be thrown out of Congress and put in prison,” declared Jeff Herzberg, a Long Island resident who spent hours ready to see Santos’ arraignment.
“I hope that day comes soon.”
Santos was elected to Congress final fall after a marketing campaign constructed partly on falsehoods.
He instructed folks he was a rich Wall Street dealmaker with a considerable actual property portfolio who had been a star volleyball participant in faculty, amongst different issues.
In actuality, Santos did not work on the massive monetary companies he mentioned employed him, did not go to varsity and struggled financially earlier than coming into politics.
He claimed he fueled his run largely with self-made riches earned from brokering offers on costly toys for rich shoppers, however the indictment alleges these boasts had been additionally exaggerated.
In a House monetary disclosure kind, Santos reported making $USD750,000 ($1.1 million) a 12 months from a household firm, the Devolder Organization, however the expenses unsealed Wednesday allege that Santos by no means acquired that sum, nor the $1 million and $5 million in dividends he listed as coming from the agency.
Santos has described the Devolder Organization as a dealer for gross sales of luxurious objects like yachts and plane.
The business was integrated in Florida shortly after Santos stopped working for Harbor City Capital, the corporate accused by federal authorities of working an unlawful Ponzi scheme.
In November 2021, Santos fashioned Redstone Strategies, a Florida firm that federal prosecutors say he used to dupe donors into financing his way of life.
According to the indictment, Santos instructed an affiliate to solicit contributions to the corporate and gave the particular person contact info for potential donors.
Emails to potential donors falsely claimed the corporate was fashioned “exclusively” to help Santos’ election bid and that there could be no limits on how a lot they might contribute, the indictment mentioned.
Santos falsely claimed the cash could be spent on tv adverts and different marketing campaign bills, it mentioned.
But a month earlier than his election, Santos transferred about $74,000 from the corporate to financial institution accounts he maintained, the indictment mentioned.
He additionally transferred cash to a few of his associates, it mentioned.
Santos’ authorized troubles date to his late teenagers, when he was investigated in Brazil for allegedly utilizing stolen checks to purchase garments — a case that authorities say they’ve since reopened.
In 2017, Santos was charged with theft in Pennsylvania for allegedly utilizing 1000’s of {dollars} in bogus checks to purchase puppies from breeders.
That case was dismissed after Santos claimed his checkbook was stolen and another person took the canines.
Federal authorities have individually been trying into complaints about Santos’ fundraising for a gaggle that purported to assist abused pets.
A New Jersey veteran accused Santos of failing to ship $3,000 he raised to assist his canine get wanted surgical procedure.
Source: www.9news.com.au
