2023-05-10 14:21:00
NEW YORK.– The Republican legislator George Santoswho has sparked outrage and ridicule for his numerous lies about his ancestry, education and professional experience, was charged with 13 federal criminal counts and is detained after surrendering to justice this Wednesday.
The 34-year-old New York congressman was charged with seven counts of wire fraud, three of money laundering, one of theft of public funds, and two of making false statements to the House of Representatives.
These last two charges are related to two financial disclosure forms you filed as a candidate. In the first, in 2020, Santos allegedly exaggerated the income he received from a job and did not disclose his salary from another company. In the second count, he lied about earning a $750,000 salary and $1 million to $5 million in dividends from his company, the Devolder Organization. They also say he falsely claimed to have a checking account with between $100,000 and $250,000, and a savings account with deposits between $1 million and $5 million.
The indictment also says that Santos induced his supporters to donate to a company under the false pretense that the money would be used to support his campaign. Instead he says, used it for personal expensesincluding luxury designer clothes and to pay off your credit cards.
Among all the accusations, the one of fraudulently applying for unemployment benefits. Santos falsely claimed to be out of work on an application for a pandemic-related unemployment insurance program for which he received $24,744 in benefits.
U.S. Attorney Breon Peace stated that the indictment “seeks to hold Santos accountable for various alleged fraudulent schemes and blatant misrepresentations.”
“Taken together, the charges accuse Santos of relying on repeated dishonesty and deceit to climb the halls of Congress and enrich themselvesadded Peace.
Santos was expected to make his first appearance in federal court on Long Island late Wednesday, at which time the charges against him would be unsealed.
If Santos is found guilty of the charges against him, He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. on the main charge, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.
When asked by The Associated Press on Tuesday about the case, Santos said: “This is news to me”. “You are the first person to call me on this matter,” she added in a brief telephone interview.
The New York Republican has acknowledged having lied about his Jewish ancestry, his Wall Street background, college degrees, and a past as a star volleyball player. He is also accused of sexually harass a man who was allegedly offered employment by his office and later backed down when he rejected his advances.
Until now, Santos had resisted demands to resign, recently announcing that I would seek re-election. He said the lies about his life story — including telling people he worked for various global financial firms and a portfolio of luxury real estate — were only a harmless embellishment to your resume.
but it still exists pressure to resign. Reporters and members of the public have harassed him. He has been ridiculed on social media and on late-night television. His fellow Republicans in New York have asked him to resign on the grounds that with his lies he had betrayed the voters and his own party.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Republican, said he would “review the charges” before considering whether or not Santos should be removed from Congress.
Nassau County prosecutors and the New York attorney general’s office had previously said they were looking into possible violations of the law.
THE NATION
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