Lying Long Island Rep. George Santos faced a series of new allegations Tuesday, including that he stole the identities of campaign donors and ran up tens of thousands of dollars on their credit cards without authorization.
Federal prosecutors unsealed a new indictment charging the scandal-plagued Republican with 10 additional counts, on top of the allegations of embezzling campaign money and lying to Congress he already faced.
“As alleged, Santos is accused of stealing people’s identities and charging his own donors’ credit cards without their authorization, lying to the FEC and, by extension, the public about the financial status of his campaign,” it said. U.S. Attorney Breon Peace. in a statement on Tuesday.
“Santos falsely inflated the campaign’s reported income with non-existent loans and contributions that were fabricated or stolen.”
Santos, 35, allegedly used donor cards, without their knowledge, to collect more than $44,000 from his campaign over a period of months, the superseding indictment states.
In one case, he collected $12,000, the “vast majority” of which was funneled into his personal account.
George Santos has maintained his innocence. AP
The new indictment brings the total charges Santos faces to 23, and comes after his former campaign treasurer, Nancy Marks, pleaded guilty last week to one count of fraud conspiracy for allegedly colluding with the congressman to manipulate the books.
Prosecutors further allege that Santos and Marks conspired to ensure the truth-challenged politician qualified for a party national committee program that offered logistical support and financial resources to campaigns that raised at least $250,000 from donors in a quarter.
As part of the scheme, the couple allegedly falsely indicated in financial reports that at least 10 members of the Santos family had made sizable donations to the campaign, despite knowing they did not, according to prosecutors.
They also claimed that Santos had loaned his campaign about $500,000, even though he had less than $8,000 in his personal and business accounts, prosecutors said.
Santos’ former campaign treasurer, Nancy Marks, pleaded guilty in federal court last week.AP
Santos has previously tried to blame Marks for irregularities in his finances, claiming she “went dishonest.”
Marks was a close confidant of Santos during his two congressional runs.
The new charges against Santos include one count of conspiracy to commit crimes against the United States, two counts of wire fraud, two counts of making materially false statements to the Federal Election Commission, two counts of aggravated identity theft, one count of device fraud of access and two counts of falsifying records filed to obstruct the FEC.
This is in addition to the 13 charges brought against him earlier this year, including 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. .
Santos now faces a total of 23 charges. Twitter/Rep. Jorge Santos
Santos previously pleaded not guilty to the original 13 charges.
He is scheduled to appear in Long Island federal court on October 27.
Santos has faced calls to resign from his position since late last year, when it was revealed that he had fabricated large stretches of his personal story.
Undeterred, he is pressing ahead with his plans to run for re-election in 2024 and faces a litany of primary opponents.
On Tuesday, his predecessor, former Rep. Thomas Suozzi (D-N.Y.), announced that he was filing paperwork to compete for Santos’ seat.
The Post has contacted a representative for Santos for comment.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn