(RepublicanPress.org) – First-term Congressman Rep. George Santos (R-NY) raised eyebrows since revelations he lied about his background emerged during his campaign for office during the 2022 midterm elections. The controversy peaked when federal prosecutors unsealed a 13-count indictment against him in early May. However, as it turns out — lightning does strike the same place twice — and the US Attorney’s office for the Eastern District of New York (EDNY) recently filed another round of criminal charges against him.
On October 10, EDNY prosecutors announced their filing of a superseding indictment against Santos, adding 10 counts to their earlier filing. The new charges included:
- One count of access device/identifier fraud;
- Two counts of aggravated identity theft;
- Two counts of falsifying records to obstruct the Federal Election Commission (FEC);
- Two counts of presenting false statements to the FEC;
- Two counts of wire fraud, and;
- One count of conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States.
The EDNY’s press release explained that Santos and the former treasurer of his congressional campaign committee, Nancy Marks, conspired to fraudulently obtain money to qualify for a “program administered by the national party committee” (the RNC) to get logistical and financial support for his bid for office.
BREAKING: New York Rep. George Santos was charged Tuesday with conspiracy, wire fraud, false statements, falsification of records, aggravated identity theft and credit card fraud.
— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 10, 2023
Among other requirements, Santos’ campaign had to “demonstrate” that it raised a minimum of a quarter million dollars from third-party contributors in a single fiscal quarter. Federal prosecutors alleged that Santos stole the identity of several of his donors and made payments using their credit cards without their authorization to fulfill that requirement.
In one of many instances, Santos allegedly attempted to make “at least $44,800 in charges” on one of his donor’s credit cards. On one occasion, he billed $12,000 and transferred most of it to his personal bank account.
The indictment carried over the 13 charges included in the EDNY’s first criminal filing. They included one count of theft of public funds and multiple counts of making materially false statements to the US House, money laundering, and wire fraud.
I will be introducing legislation to expel George Santos from Congress. pic.twitter.com/ai4tJxzBZs
— Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (@RepDesposito) October 11, 2023
On October 11, Rep. Anthony D’Esposito posted a statement on his X/Twitter page announcing his decision to move to expel Santos from the US House. Later in the day, he told reporters that five of his fellow New York House Republicans would co-sponsor that measure, including Nick Langworthy, Marc Molinaro, Brandon Williams, Mike Lawler, and Nick LaLota.
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