George Santos Embezzled Campaign Funds to Buy Designer Clothes, Prosecutors Say

Republican Representative from New York George Santos attends the US House of Representatives voting for new speaker at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, January 4, 2023. (Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)

Embattled Rep. George Santos has been charged with 13 criminal counts, including wire fraud and money laundering, in a dramatic comeuppance for the Congressman famous for making stuff up.

Prosecutors accused Santos of embezzling campaign contributions to buy pricey designer clothes, and using the money to give handouts to his associates. He also received $24,000 worth of unemployment during the pandemic, even though he had a job and was pulling down a $120,000-a-year salary, according to an indictment unsealed on Wednesday morning.

Santos was taken into custody inside a federal courthouse in New York on Wednesday morning, and appeared before a judge in the afternoon. He pleaded not guilty and was released on a $500,000 bond. His next court appearance is now scheduled for June 30th before U.S. District Court Judge Joanna Seybert.

“This indictment seeks to hold Santos accountable for various alleged fraudulent schemes and brazen misrepresentations,” U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Breon Peace, in a statement announcing the charges. “The allegations in the indictment charge Santos with relying on repeated dishonesty and deception to ascend to the halls of Congress and enrich himself.”

Prosecutors also charged Santos with lying on federal disclosure forms and misleading Congress about his finances.

The charges include 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.

Santos faces a maximum 20 years in prison if he is convicted on the top charges against him.

Santos’ criminal indictment marks a dramatic twist for the Republican representing New York’s 3rd Congressional District, best known for his insanely long list of alleged fabrications. Santos has previously admitted embellishing some parts of his resumé, but denied breaking the law.

Santos won election to Congress while falsely presenting himself as a successful, self-made real estate financier, and a former star college volleyball player. In fact he never went to college, and faced financial difficulties in the years before he entered politics.

He once admitted “I’ve been a terrible liar” on some subjects about his background.

Prosecutors said Santos filed for unemployment benefits, which included bonus federal funds related to the COVID crisis, while the pandemic was raging during the summer of 2020—even though he was earning a regular salary working as a regional director for a Florida-based investment firm.

In late 2022, Santos allegedly asked a political consultant to tell donors that their funds would be used to buy TV ads for his campaign for Congress. A pair of donors contributed $25,000 each on the basis of those assurances. But the money was instead moved to Santos’ personal account and used to buy “luxury designer clothing,” pay off credit cards, make a car payment, and make bank transfers to Santos’ associates, prosecutors wrote in the indictment.

In the fall of 2022, Santos allegedly filed a Congressional disclosure form that included false statements about his wealth and income, including that he had earned a $750,000 salary and over $1 million in dividends from a company he controlled called Devolder Organization LLC, and that he held millions in checking and savings accounts. None of that was true, prosecutors said.

Santos also failed to report $28,000 from his real job with the Florida-based investment company and more than $20,000 in unemployment insurance benefits, according to the indictment.

Santos represents one member of the House GOP’s historically tiny 9-person majority over Democrats. For now, Santos is not required to step down, and Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he would withhold judgement and not urge Santos to resign until he learns more about the investigation.

“I’ll look at the charges,” McCarthy told CNN on Tuesday.

Santos was spotted exiting McCarthy’s office earlier that day by CNN, but McCarthy claimed he did not know why Santos had been there and that Santos hadn’t told him about the criminal charges.