US Congressman Santos faces more campaign finance charges

U.S. Representative George Santos (R-NY) walks to a House Republican Conference meeting as Republicans work towards electing a new Speaker of the House on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., October 9, 2023. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein Acquire Licensing Rights

Oct 10 (Reuters) - U.S. Representative George Santos was hit with more criminal charges on Tuesday, with prosecutors accusing him of inflating his campaign's fundraising numbers and charging campaign contributors' credit cards without their consent.

A 23-count superseding indictment filed in federal court in Central Islip, New York charged the embattled Long Island congressman and his former treasurer, Nancy Marks, with falsely telling the Federal Election Commission (FEC) that their family members had made significant financial contributions.

The false reports made it appear as if Santos' campaign had raised at least $250,000 from outside donors in a single quarter, the threshold to qualify for financial and logistical support from the Republican Party, prosecutors said.

Santos also told the FEC he had made a $500,000 loan to his campaign when he had just $8,000 in his bank accounts at the time, according to the indictment.

Marks pleaded guilty last week to a conspiracy charge.

Santos, 35, pleaded not guilty in May to a 13-count indictment charging him with defrauding prospective political supporters by laundering funds to pay for his personal expenses, illegally receiving unemployment benefits while he was employed and lying to the House of Representatives about his assets.

His lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.

The 35-year-old political newcomer has pleaded not guilty and resisted calls to resign for lying about his resume. He is free on $500,000 bail.

The indictment unsealed on Tuesday accused Santos of using the credit card information of people who had already donated to his campaign to make additional contributions, and in some cases transfer funds to his own personal account.

Santos is due back in court for a status conference on Oct. 27.

Tom Suozzi, a Democrat who previously held Santos' seat, said on Tuesday he would run in next year's election.

Reporting by Costas Pitas and Dan Whitcomb in Washington D.C. and by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Eric Beech, Noeleen Walder and David Gregorio

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