Who is George Santos? The American lawmaker who invented a resume and even family ties is accused of more than twenty charges: a story worthy of Netflix

George Santos goes down in the history of the United States in the worst way. They call him a liar and accuse him of alleged fraud. It is not the profile expected of someone with such high responsibility: Santos is a Republican congressman.

Santos is under investigation and on Tuesday, October 10, 2023, the New York Attorney General’s Office charged him with 23 new federal charges, Univision reported.

The network also indicated that Democrats had filed a motion to expel him, but Santos’ colleagues “blocked” it.

His case, according to what was reported by Edwin Pitti, a Univision journalist, went to the House Ethics Committee.

What George Santos did

According to EFE, New York City prosecutors charged Santos on Tuesday with 23 counts, including conspiracy to commit crimes against the United States, making false statements to the Federal Electoral Commission (FEC) to obtain money for his campaign, and falsifying documents. presented to this body.

Also charged with aggravated identity theft, wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and false statements to the House of Representatives, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn said.

From Univisión they recalled that Santos “lied about his resume during the campaign.”

Not only that: he also called himself a ‘Latin Jew.’ The US channel reported in January 2023 that Santos said his grandparents had survived the Holocaust and recalled that he even said in an interview with Fox News that “he had ancestors.” . “Ukrainian on my mother’s side.”

But they insist that “genealogical data reviewed by CNN shows no signs of Ukrainian heritage in Santos’ genealogy. “Multiple family records show that Santos’ grandparents were born in Brazil.”

Controversial American congressman of Brazilian descent George Santos reaches a court settlement in a fraud case

Indictment against George Santos

Last May, Santos was charged with “alleged fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and false testimony, with a total of thirteen counts against him, to which he pleaded not guilty.”

This week, the Public Prosecution Service spoke of new charges, for a total of 23.

El País added that this man “is accused of stealing the identities of donors to his campaign and then using their credit cards to make tens of thousands of dollars in unauthorized charges.”

Prosecutors say Santos “falsely inflated reported campaign income with nonexistent, fabricated, or stolen loans and contributions.”

Prosecutors – according to El País – “claim that some of the stolen money ended up in their own bank account.”

Lies? Apparently from the name

This matter is delicate. It is a set of inaccurate or false data. “For some, problems start with their name. The congressman has at times identified himself as George Devolder according to documents from one of his employers, Harbor City Capital, cited by The Washington Post; “Anthony Devolder, according to his former roommate Gregory Morey-Parker in an interview with CNN, and just like Anthony Zabrovsky, according to a report by The Hill,” Univisión indicated in January 2023.

They questioned his bachelor’s degree in economics and finance from Baruch College in 2010 on that date.

In addition, “Santos says in his campaign biography that he worked at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, but representatives of both financial institutions told The New York Times that they had no record of Santos’ employment.”

Even the mother did not escape all this: “In July 2021, Santos said in a tweet that the September 11 attacks “took my mother’s life.” “On December 23, 2021, he said it was the fifth anniversary of the death of his mother, Fátima Devolder.”

What is known, under the magnifying glass of research, are inputs that a good screenwriter cannot ignore to develop a series and present it on Netflix, for example.

I will not resign, says George Santos

Last October 10, surrounded by journalists, Santos recalled the legal argument: “In this country, everyone is innocent until proven guilty.”

The prosecution indicated in the indictment, as reported this week by EFE, that during the 2022 election campaign, Santos and Nancy Marks, former treasurer of his committee, “conspired to devise and execute a fraudulent scheme to by submitting false reports to the Federal Electoral Commission (FEC)”.

Faced with the fuss over this scandal, Santos responded to the media: “I have the constitutional right to defend myself and I will do so.”

In front of the microphones, he remained steadfast in his decision ‘not to resign’.

“If the Ethics Committee finds a reason to dismiss me, that is the procedure. “It’s not about politics, it’s about this body silencing 145,000 people who voted for me to come here and take away the voice of the 700,000 people I represent,” he said.

George Santos, El País recalled, “was elected representative for a district of Long Island and Queens (New York) in the midterm elections” held eleven months ago.

What’s coming

According to Univisión, Santos “has already admitted that during his academic career he fabricated much of his biography, including his real name and his religion (…).”

The aforementioned American network says that Santos will appear in court on October 27.

“He faces,” El País noted, up to 20 years in prison if convicted of the most serious charges, wire fraud and money laundering, filed at the time by Brooklyn federal prosecutor Breon Peace’s office.

(JO)