Joe.My.God. LGBT News
From the Justice Department:
A 23-count superseding indictment was filed today in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, charging George Anthony Devolder Santos, better known as “George Santos,” the United States Representative for the Third District of New York, with one count of conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States, two counts of wire fraud, two counts of making materially false statements to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), two counts of falsifying records submitted to obstruct the FEC, two counts of aggravated identity theft, and one count of access device fraud, in addition to the 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 United States House of Representatives that were charged in the original indictment.
Santos is due back in federal court in Central Islip on October 27, 2023. Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Nicole M. Argentieri, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and James Smith, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Anne T. Donnelly, Nassau County District Attorney, announced the superseding indictment.
“As alleged, Santos is charged with stealing people’s identities and making charges on his own donors’ credit cards without their authorization, lying to the FEC and, by extension, the public about the financial state of his campaign. Santos falsely inflated the campaign’s reported receipts with non-existent loans and contributions that were either fabricated or stolen” stated United States Attorney Peace. “This Office will relentlessly pursue criminal charges against anyone who uses the electoral process as an opportunity to defraud the public and our government institutions.”
“Santos allegedly led multiple additional fraudulent criminal schemes, lying to the American public in the process. The FBI is committed to upholding the laws of our electoral process. Anyone who attempts to violate the law as part of a political campaign will face punishment in the criminal justice system,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Smith.
“The defendant – a Congressman – allegedly stole the identities of family members and used the credit card information of political contributors to fraudulently inflate his campaign coffers,” stated District Attorney Donnelly. “We thank our partners in the US Attorney’s Office and the FBI as we work together to root out public corruption on Long Island.”
CBS News reports:
Last week, Santos’ ex-campaign treasurer, Nancy Marks, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud, admitting she fraudulently reported hundreds of thousands in fake loans that Santos had claimed he made to his campaign.
Marks and Santos, according to prosecutors in Marks’ case, allegedly carried out a fraudulent scheme to “obtain money for the campaign by submitting materially false reports to the FEC on behalf of the campaign.”
In those reports, the two allegedly inflated the campaign’s fundraising numbers, saying that Santos had loaned his campaign $500,000 when he hadn’t done so — and lacked the funds to make a contribution of that size.
And 13 felony charges becomes 23 felony charges.
ALERT: Superseding indictment against Rep George Santos (R-NY). He now faces *23* charges, including conspiracy & fraud. Feds: “Santos allegedly led multiple additional fraudulent criminal schemes, lying to the American public in the process.” pic.twitter.com/oGK4O84jo0
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) October 10, 2023
BREAKING: U.S. Rep. George Santos charged in new indictment with stealing the identities of donors to his campaign and then using their credit cards. Prosecutors said some of the stolen money ended up in his own bank account. https://t.co/ZxHhYBfFDj
— The Associated Press (@AP) October 10, 2023