New York congressman-elect George Santos could be sentenced to up to five years in prison if found guilty of committing fraud in Brazil 14 years ago, as Brazilian authorities announced their intention to revive a 2008 check-fraud case against him.
Back in 2008, according to Brazilian prosecutors, the then-19-year-old Santos used a stolen checkbook and a false name to spend nearly $700 in fraudulent purchases at a clothing store in the city of Niterói, outside Rio de Janeiro. His mother later told police that Santos had stolen a check from a man she used to work for.
In 2009, Santos admitted to the crime, writing on social-media website Orkut that he knew he "screwed up," but wanted to pay back the shop owner. In September 2011, fraud charges were brought against Santos, but by then, he had already moved to the U.S. The case was dropped as officials could not locate Santos.
Santos has denied any criminal involvement, telling The New York Post in late December: "I am not a criminal here—not here or in Brazil or any jurisdiction in the world. Absolutely not. That didn't happen."
His lawyer Joe Murray said on Monday that he was in the process of engaging local counsel to address "this alleged complaint against my client," as reported by The New York Times.
Even if Santos does not present a defense in the Brazilian case, he will be tried in absentia and could be sentenced to up to five years in prison if found guilty, plus a fine.
The more-than-10-year-old Brazilian case is not the only trouble the Republican congressman-elect is facing ahead of taking his seat in Congress on Tuesday.
A New York Times investigation published in December found several major discrepancies in Santos's résumé and biography. The Republican, now 34, has since admitted to lying about having a Jewish heritage, working for Wall Street banks and obtaining a finance degree.
Court records show that the image Santos portrayed of himself on social media—as a successful embodiment of the American dream—does not correspond to reality, as he has had financial issues, including being put under eviction three times between 2014 and 2017 over unpaid rent.
Santos is also under scrutiny for his campaign spending.
In response to the questioning over the false claims made during his campaign, Santos wrote on Twitter on December 22, 2022: "To the people of #NY03 I have my story to tell and it will be told next week.
"I want to assure everyone that I will address your questions and that I remain committed to deliver the results I campaigned on; Public safety, Inflation, Education & more."
Newsweek has contacted Santos for comment.
Notsnowbound on January 15th, 2023 at 17:53 UTC »
Jokes on them, it's not his real name!
rubyblue0 on January 15th, 2023 at 17:46 UTC »
I’ll believe it when I see it.
HSTsGhost-72 on January 15th, 2023 at 17:34 UTC »
He will just get a book deal.