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   From: nowomr@protonmail.com   
      
   >   
   >Published October 12, 2023   
      
   Congressman George Santos Charged with Fraud, Money Laundering, Theft of   
   Public Funds, and False Statements Wednesday, May 10, 2023   
   For Immediate Release   
   U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of New York   
   Santos Allegedly Embezzled Contributions from Supporters, Fraudulently   
   Obtained Unemployment Benefits, and Lied in Disclosures to the House of   
   Representatives   
      
   CENTRAL ISLIP, NY – A 13-count indictment was unsealed today in the United   
   States District Court for the Eastern District of New York charging George   
   Anthony Devolder Santos, better known as “George Santos,” a United States   
   Congressman representing the Third District of New York, 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.   
      
   The indictment was returned yesterday under seal by a federal grand jury   
   sitting in Central Islip, New York. Santos was arrested this morning and   
   will be arraigned this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Arlene R.   
   Lindsay at the federal courthouse in Central Islip, New York.   
      
   Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York,   
   Kenneth A. Polite, Jr., Assistant Attorney General of the Justice   
   Department’s Criminal Division, and Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant   
   Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office   
   (FBI), and Anne T. Donnelly, District Attorney, Nassau County, announced   
   the charges.   
      
   “This indictment seeks to hold Santos accountable for various alleged   
   fraudulent schemes and brazen misrepresentations,” stated United States   
   Attorney Peace.  “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.  He used political contributions to   
   line his pockets, unlawfully 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 law enforcement   
   partners will continue to aggressively root out corruption and   
   self-dealing from our community’s public institutions and hold public   
   officials accountable to the constituents who elected them.”   
      
   “The Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section is committed to rooting   
   out fraud and corruption, especially when committed by our elected   
   officials,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the   
   Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “As alleged, Santos engaged in   
   criminal conduct intended to deceive and defraud the American public. As   
   this indictment reflects, the Department of Justice will hold accountable   
   anyone who engages in such criminality.”   
      
   “As today's enforcement action demonstrates, the FBI remains committed to   
   holding all equally accountable under the law.  As we allege, Congressman   
   Santos committed federal crimes, and he will now be forced to face the   
   consequences of his actions.  I would like to commend the diligent efforts   
   of the investigative and prosecutorial teams in this matter,” stated FBI   
   Assistant Director-in-Charge Driscoll.   
      
   “At the height of the pandemic in 2020, George Santos allegedly applied   
   for and received unemployment benefits while he was employed and running   
   for Congress,” stated District Attorney Donnelly.  “As charged in the   
   indictment, the defendant’s alleged behavior continued during his second   
   run for Congress when he pocketed campaign contributions and used that   
   money to pay down personal debts and buy designer clothing. This   
   indictment is the result of a lengthy collaboration between law   
   enforcement agencies, and I thank our partners at the U.S. Attorney’s   
   Office, the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation   
   for their dedication to rooting out public corruption.”   
      
   Mr. Peace also thanked the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector   
   General, the New York State Department of Labor (NYS DOL), and the Queens   
   County District Attorney’s Office for their assistance.   
      
   As alleged in the indictment, Santos, who was elected to Congress last   
   November and sworn in as the U.S. Representative for New York’s Third   
   Congressional District on January 7, 2023, engaged in multiple fraudulent   
   schemes.   
      
   Fraudulent Political Contribution Solicitation Scheme   
      
   Beginning in September 2022, during his successful campaign for Congress,   
   Santos operated a limited liability company (Company #1) through which he   
   allegedly defrauded prospective political supporters.  Santos enlisted a   
   Queens-based political consultant (Person #1) to communicate with   
   prospective donors on Santos’s behalf.  Santos allegedly directed Person   
   #1 to falsely tell donors that, among other things, their money would be   
   used to help elect Santos to the House, including by purchasing television   
   advertisements. In reliance on these false statements, two donors   
   (Contributor #1 and Contributor #2) each transferred $25,000 to Company   
   #1’s bank account, which Santos controlled.   
      
   As alleged in the indictment, shortly after the funds were received into   
   Company #1’s bank account, the money was transferred into Santos’s   
   personal bank accounts—in one instance laundered through two of Santos’s   
   personal accounts.  Santos allegedly then used much of that money for   
   personal expenses.  Among other things, Santos allegedly used the funds to   
   make personal purchases (including of designer clothing), to withdraw   
   cash, to discharge personal debts, and to transfer money to his   
   associates.   
      
   Unemployment Insurance Fraud Scheme   
      
   Beginning in approximately February 2020, Santos was employed as a   
   Regional Director of a Florida-based investment firm (Investment Firm #1),   
   where he earned an annual salary of approximately $120,000.  By late-March   
   2020, in response to the outbreak of COVID-19 in the United States, new   
   legislation was signed into law that provided additional federal funding   
   to assist out-of-work Americans during the pandemic.   
      
   In mid-June 2020, although he was employed and was not eligible for   
   unemployment benefits, Santos applied for government assistance through   
   the New York State Department of Labor, allegedly claiming falsely to have   
   been unemployed since March 2020.  From that point until April 2021—when   
   Santos was working and receiving a salary on a near-continuous basis and   
   during his unsuccessful run for Congress—he falsely affirmed each week   
   that he was eligible for unemployment benefits when he was not.  As a   
   result, Santos allegedly fraudulently received more than $24,000 in   
      
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