Long Island Rep. George Santos was arrested Wednesday on federal fraud, theft and money laundering charges, authorities said.
Santos turned himself in to authorities shortly after 9 a.m. in Central Islip federal court.
He will be arraigned on a 13-count indictment charging him with seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds and two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives later this year. afternoon in federal court.
“This indictment seeks to hold Santos accountable for several alleged fraudulent schemes and blatant misrepresentations,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement. “Taken together, the allegations in the indictment accuse Santos of relying on repeated dishonesty and deception to ascend the halls of Congress and enrich himself. He used political contributions to pour himself pockets, illegally applied for unemployment benefits that should have gone to New Yorkers who had lost their jobs due to the pandemic, and lied to the House of Representatives. My office and our partners in law enforcement will continue to aggressively root out corruption and self-dealing in our community’s public institutions and hold public officials accountable to the voters who elected them.”
The freshman congressman has been under the microscope for the past year for fabricating stories about his personal and professional history. The FBI and the US Department of Justice have been investigating Santos’ campaign documents and dealings with private businesses.
The U.S. attorney’s office and the Nassau district attorney’s office, which reportedly worked alongside federal prosecutors, did not respond to requests for comment.
Santos defeated Democrat Robert Zimmerman in the November general election in the 3rd Congressional District, which straddles parts of Nassau and Queens counties.
Santos, 34, came under scrutiny after a report by The New York Times found discrepancies in his resume and the biography he promoted during the campaign.
Santos admitted to lying about his resume, including claims that he had graduated from Baruch College and attended New York University.
But he maintained his innocence regarding other charges, such as his claims that he was descended from Jewish Holocaust survivors.
Since then, the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office, the House Ethics Committee, the US Attorney’s Office, the Federal Election Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission have launched investigations into him .
Officials from the office of state Attorney General Letitia James have also said they are “looking into a number of issues” surrounding Santos.
Santos told Newsday last month that he would cooperate with investigators, saying he had only been contacted by the House Ethics Committee.
“I look forward to the investigations ending on the House side and being able to come out the other side and show people that speculation is not fact,” Santos said in his congressional office in Washington , DC.
Federal prosecutors have been investigating Santos’ public filings amid questions about the source of his wealth, ABC News has reported. He listed a massive salary increase in 2022 and said he owned assets worth between $2.6 million and $11.2 million.
Authorities are also interested in how Santos’ income appeared to fluctuate significantly from his 2020 campaign, when he reported only about $55,000 in income to reporting millions of dollars in assets during his second run, according to reports of news
Investigators have also focused on a more than $700,000 loan he made to his campaign, according to a Washington Post story that cited people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The Campaign Legal Center, a watchdog group, filed a formal complaint with the FEC alleging that Santos hid the true sources of money he lent to his campaign, misrepresented campaign expenses and used il· campaign money for personal expenses legally.
The House Ethics Committee said in March it had opened an investigation into Santos to determine whether he violated laws governing campaign finance, financial disclosure, conflict of interest and sexual misconduct.
Speaking Tuesday about reports of a possible Santos indictment, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who has faced calls from Nassau Republicans and Democrats to oust Santos, told the journalists that he would not ask Santos to resign.
McCarthy cited the example of Sen. Robert Menendez (DN.J.), who was indicted on a corruption charge, though prosecutors dropped the charges after a mistrial.
“He’s the chairman of a committee today,” McCarthy said of Menendez, “so I think in America you’re innocent until proven guilty.”
But Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-Island Park), a first-term lawmaker, repeated his calls for Santos to resign.
“As a retired NYPD detective, I am confident that the justice system will fully expose Deputy Santos’ long history of deception, and I once again call on this serial fraudster to resign,” said D ‘Esposito in a statement.
Former Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove), who served three terms representing the 3rd Congressional District before resigning to run for governor last year, said in a statement: “I am confident that the legal process will justice for those Santos has harmed. and will follow events closely as they unfold.”
Suozzi has been mentioned as a possible candidate to take Santos’ place if Santos is impeached and removed from Congress.
Zimmerman, of Great Neck, who has been mentioned as another potential Democratic candidate for the seat, said in a statement Tuesday night: “If House Republicans do not deal with his immediate removal, they will accomplices of their crimes”.
Nassau Republican Chairman Joe Cairo has repeatedly said the party will not support Santos’ re-election bid.
A county party spokesman said Tuesday night that Cairo would hold off on comment until the charges were official. Cairo said last week that it continued to field numerous inquiries from Republicans interested in the seat.
With Tom Brune, Laura Figueroa Hernández and Yancey Roy
By Nicole Fuller and Grant Parpan
Source link
