Fox News reports that the FBI is allegedly investigating Congressman George Santos (R-NY) for using a fake animal charity to raise $3,000 for a veterans cancer-ridden dog to keep the money for himself.
The former service member in this situation, Richard Osthoff, told Politico that two FBI agents contacted him on behalf of the U.S. Attorneys Office in the Eastern District of New York.
Patch.com was the first to report the story and stated that Osthoff came in contact with Friends of Pets United, a supposed animal charity, when he learned that the cost of surgery for his dog would be around $3,000. The dog is a service dog, a pit bull mix named Sapphire. However, poor Sapphire was diagnosed with cancer and a life-threatening stomach tumor.
When Osthoff learned of this, he was informed by a veterinarian technician about a charity that could potentially assist the veteran. He was told that Anthony Devolder ran the charity. This is an alias that George Santos allegedly used for years leading up to his entry into politics in 2020.
Osthoff and another veteran allege that a GoFundMe page was set up to raise funds necessary to help Santos shut the dog down and that he took off with the money.
Fox News reports that Santos allegedly said the dogs condition was untreatable after meeting with a veterinarian about the situation. He said that the money raised would go to his charity instead since the dog was supposedly beyond help. Osthoff asked Santos to take the funds to other clinics, but he said that Santos had stopped responding to him outright by that point.
The dog passed away on January 15, 2017, but Osthoff could not afford to have him cremated or buried because he had been out of work for more than a year due to a broken leg. Osthoff said he had to panhandle to raise the money necessary to cremate the dog.
Fox News Digital reached out to Santos office for comment on this story, but they did not hear back in time for its publication. The FBI told Fox News Digital that it could neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation. Their policy is not to answer questions about ongoing investigations in general.
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