https://www.washingtonpost.com/national ... s-charges/
Rep. George Santos, the freshman Republican congressman whose myriad falsehoods became both a scandal and a national punchline, was charged with a host of financial crimes in court papers unsealed Wednesday
Santos, 34, surrendered to federal authorities in the morning and is expected to appear in a federal courthouse in Central Islip, on Long Island, later Wednesday.
Officials said he has been charged with fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds, and false statements. The congressman and his lawyer did not respond to earlier messages seeking comment.
The federal allegations mark the latest chapter in a saga that has put Santos under a bright spotlight in Washington and beyond. The lies he told voters in a district stretching from parts of Long Island to Queens largely escaped national attention until after his November victory. Once they were revealed on a broad scale, Santos, who flipped a seat previously held by a Democrat, apologized for what he called “résumé embellishment.”
But some of the scrutiny has been aimed at more serious potential wrongdoing, including allegedly misrepresenting his campaign’s finances and deceiving people for his financial gain.
Santos has been the subject of multiple investigations. Prosecutors and federal agents have been scrutinizing his campaign finance reports and a host of related questions about his personal income and spending. Of particular interest to authorities is how Santos’s income seemed to fluctuate significantly, as well as a loan he made to his campaign of more than $700,000, according to people familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss it.
The congressman also came under fire for allegedly pocketing $3,000 from a GoFundMe page he purportedly set up for a homeless veteran to help pay for surgery for the man’s dying service dog. Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Commission has interviewed people about Santos’s role in Harbor City Capital, an investment firm that was forced to shut down in 2021 after the SEC accused it of operating a “classic Ponzi scheme.”
