CENTRAL ISLIP, New York — US Representative George Santos was arrested on Wednesday on federal fees of fraud, cash laundering and theft of public funds within the newest hit to the newly elected Republican, who has resisted calls to resign for mendacity about his resume.
The 13-count indictment, unsealed on Wednesday, fees Santos, 34, with defrauding potential political supporters by laundering funds to pay for his private bills and illegally receiving unemployment advantages whereas he was employed.
He can be accused of creating false statements to the House of Representatives about his property, earnings and liabilities.
Top House Republicans, who management the chamber by a slim 222-213 margin, mentioned they might look ahead to the authorized course of to play out earlier than taking additional motion on Santos, who is because of seem later Wednesday on the federal courthouse in Central Islip, New York.
“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,” Breon Peace, the US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, mentioned in an announcement.
Santos’s congressional workplace referred requests for remark to his counsel. An lawyer for Santos didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark in regards to the indictment.
Nine House Republicans have up to now referred to as on Santos to resign, together with six from his house state of New York. But No. 2 House Republican Steve Scalise mentioned the caucus would withhold judgment on Santos.
“The charges just came out,” Scalise mentioned at a press convention. “In America, there’s a presumption of innocence, but they’re serious charges. He’s going to have to go through the legal process.”
False claims
Shortly after Santos’ election in 2022 to characterize a rich space of New York’s Long Island, the New York Times and different media shops revealed that he had fabricated virtually each side of his private {and professional} historical past.
Among different claims, Santos mentioned he had levels from New York University and Baruch College regardless of neither establishment having any file of his attending. He claimed to have labored at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, which additionally was unfaithful.
He mentioned falsely that he was Jewish and that his grandparents escaped the Nazis throughout World War Two. Santos, who identifies as homosexual, additionally didn’t disclose that he was married to a lady for a number of years ending in 2019.
He has since admitted to fabricating massive components of his resume.
The House Ethics Committee in March launched a multi-pronged investigation to have a look at every little thing from alleged criminality over Santos’ 2022 marketing campaign and failing to correctly disclose info required on House statements to violations of federal conflict-of-interest legal guidelines.
Some of the allegations within the indictment monitor carefully with the claims being investigated by the House panel.
In the political marketing campaign scheme, prosecutors mentioned Santos laundered donations into his personal private financial institution accounts and used 1000’s of {dollars} to pay for private bills, from luxurious clothes to bank card funds.
He is also accused of repeatedly making false statements about his earnings in types he filed with the House.
In 2020, for example, he allegedly didn’t correctly report $25,403 in funding earnings and falsely claimed he earned a wage, fee and bonuses of $55,000 from “Company #2,” when he had solely acquired $27,555.
He additionally allegedly misstated his earnings in 2022, claiming for instance that he had a wage of $750,000 from an entity he managed and that he maintained checking accounts with balances of $100,001-$250,000.
In actuality, the indictment says, none of these claims had been true.
In addition to these alleged schemes, prosecutors mentioned Santos sought to money in on unemployment advantages throughout the top of the COVID-19 pandemic. — Reuters
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
