New York’s Republican congressman George Santos turned himself in to authorities in Lengthy Island immediately (Might 10), going through 13 federal prices, together with cash laundering and wire fraud.
A few of the prices accuse Santos of fraudulently making use of for pandemic-era unemployment advantages by the CARES Act, others are associated to marketing campaign funding. He’s anticipated to look earlier than a decide in a West Islip courthouse later immediately.
After Santos’ shock win in a traditionally Democratic district final 12 months, a sequence of media experiences alleged that Santos had fabricating massive swaths of his private historical past, together with falsely claiming Jewish heritage. Santos admitted to “embellishing his resume,” mendacity about his training and job expertise.
US Lawyer Breon Peace mentioned that the legal prices are supposed to “maintain Santos accountable for numerous alleged fraudulent schemes and brazen misrepresentations.”
In Washington, Home Speaker Kevin McCarthy indicated that Santos must resign if satisfied of against the law however, till then, that he’s “harmless till confirmed responsible,” as quoted in the New York Instances.
Quotable:
Taken collectively, the allegations on this indictment cost Santos with counting on the repeated dishonesty and deception to ascend to the halls of Congress and enrich himself. — US Lawyer Peace within the Might 10 assertion saying the indictment.
What are the costs in opposition to Santos?
The 13 legal counts in opposition to Santos embrace seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of cash laundering, one rely of theft of public funds, and two counts of constructing false statements to Congress.
Notably, the indictment—launched this morning—accuses Santos of utilizing donated marketing campaign funds to pay for private bills, together with designer garments and bank card payments. In line with the doc, Santos additionally reported false revenue and asset information on congressional disclosure kinds.
The indictment additionally accused Santos of fraudulently receiving nearly $25,000 in unemployment insurance coverage advantages in 2020—as a part of the pandemic-era CARES Act—regardless of being employed at an funding agency and making roughly $120,000 a 12 months.