U.S. Rep. George Santos, the New York Republican infamous for fabricating key parts of his life story, has been indicted on charges that he embezzled money from his campaign, lied to Congress about his income and cheated his way into undeserved unemployment benefits, prosecutors said Wednesday.
The indictment says Mr. Santos induced supporters to donate to a company under the false pretense that the money would be used to support his campaign. Instead, it says, he used it for personal expenses, including buying designer clothes and paying his credit cards and car payments.
Mr. Santos also is accused of lying about his finances on congressional disclosure forms and applying for and receiving unemployment benefits while he was employed as regional director of an investment firm that the government shut down in 2021 over allegations that it was a Ponzi scheme.
U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said the indictment “seeks to hold Santos accountable for various alleged fraudulent schemes and brazen misrepresentations.”
“Taken together, the allegations in the indictment charge Santos with relying on repeated dishonesty and deception to ascend to the halls of Congress and enrich himself,” Mr. Peace said.
Mr. Santos surrendered Wednesday and was taken to a federal courthouse on Long Island, where he was expected to make an initial court appearance later in the day on charges of wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds, and making false statements to Congress.
Reached by The Associated Press on Tuesday, Mr. Santos said he was unaware of the charges.
Mr. Santos was elected to Congress last fall after a campaign built partly on falsehoods. He told people he was a wealthy Wall Street dealmaker with a substantial real estate portfolio who had been a star volleyball player in college, among other things. In reality, he didn’t work at the big financial firms he claimed had employed him, didn’t go to college, and had struggled financially before his run for public office.
He claimed he fueled his run largely with self-made riches, earned from brokering deals on expensive toys for wealthy clients, but the indictment alleges those boasts were also exaggerated.
In a financial disclosure form, Mr. Santos reported making $750,000 a year from a family company, the Devolder Organization, but the charges unsealed Wednesday allege that Mr. Santos never received that sum, nor the $1 million and $5 million in dividends he listed as coming from the firm.
Mr. Santos has described the Devolder Organization as a broker for sales of luxury items like yachts and aircraft. The business was incorporated in Florida shortly after Santos stopped working as a salesman for Harbor City Capital, the company accused by federal authorities of operating an illegal Ponzi scheme.
In November 2021, Mr. Santos formed Redstone Strategies, a Florida company that federal prosecutors say he used to dupe donors into financing his lifestyle. According to the indictment, Mr. Santos told an associate to solicit contributions to the company via emails, text messages, and phone calls and provided the person with contact information for potential contributors.
Emails to prospective donors falsely claimed that the company was formed “exclusively” to aid Mr. Santos’ election bid and that there would be no limits on how much they could contribute, the indictment said. Mr. Santos falsely claimed that the money would be spent on television ads and other campaign expenses, it said.
Last October, a month before his election, Mr. Santos transferred about $74,000 from company coffers to bank accounts he maintained, the indictment said. He also transferred money to some of his associates, it said.
Many of Mr. Santos’ fellow New York Republicans called on him to resign after his history of fabrications was revealed. Some renewed their criticism of him as news of the criminal case spread.
“Listen, George Santos should have resigned in December. George Santos should have resigned in January. George Santos should have resigned yesterday. And perhaps he’ll resign today. But sooner or later, whether he chooses to or not, both the truth and justice will be delivered to him,” said U.S. Rep. Marc Molinaro, a Republican representing parts of upstate New York.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was more circumspect, saying “I think in America, you’re innocent till proven guilty.”
Mr. Santos has faced criminal investigations before.
When he was 19, he was the subject of a criminal investigation in Brazil over allegations he used stolen checks to buy items at a clothing shop. Brazilian authorities said they have reopened the case.
In 2017, Mr. Santos was charged with theft in Pennsylvania after authorities said he used thousands of dollars in fraudulent checks to buy puppies from dog breeders. That case was dismissed after Mr. Santos claimed his checkbook had been stolen, and that someone else had taken the dogs.
Federal authorities have separately been looking into complaints about Mr. Santos’ work raising money for a group that purported to help neglected and abused pets. One New Jersey veteran accused Santos of failing to deliver $3,000 he had raised to help his pet dog get needed surgery.
This story was reported by The Associated Press. AP writer Farnoush Amiri contributed to this report from Washington.