In a shocking turn of events, Representative George Santos (R-NY) was hit with a barrage of charges on Tuesday, ranging from conspiracy and wire fraud to false statements, falsification of records, aggravated identity theft, and credit card fraud.
The charges were part of a 23-count superseding indictment filed by prosecutors against Santos. The indictment included one count of conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States, two counts each of wire fraud, making materially false statements to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), falsifying records to obstruct the FEC, and aggravated identity theft, and one count of access device fraud.
These charges are in addition to the original indictment, which included 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, according to the Department of Justice.
United States Attorney Peace stated, As alleged, Santos is charged with stealing peoples 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 campaigns reported receipts with non-existent loans and contributions that were either fabricated or stolen. He further emphasized the commitment of his office to relentlessly pursue criminal charges against anyone who exploits the electoral process to defraud the public and government institutions.
The Department of Justice press release alleged that Santos and his former treasurer, Nancy Marks, conspired to fund Santos' 2022 congressional campaign by submitting false reports to the FEC. These reports were purportedly designed to inflate the campaign's fundraising results, thereby deceiving the FEC, a national party committee, and the American public.
Marks pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States last week.
The indictment also alleged that Santos' false report included a fictitious $500,000 loan that he claimed to have made to his own campaign. In reality, the New York representative had less than $8,000 in his personal and business bank accounts, as per the DOJ.
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