Freshman Republican congressman Rep. George Santos, who recently gained national attention for his campaign dishonesty, was charged with 13 counts of fraud and financial crimes in court papers unsealed Wednesday.
Santos, 34, surrendered to federal authorities Wednesday morning and is expected to appear in a federal courthouse in Central Islip, on Long Island, later that day.
Santos faces seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds, and two counts of lying to the House of Representatives on financial forms. The indictment also includes previously undisclosed allegations of an unlawful scheme to obtain unemployment benefits.
Prosecutors claim Santos falsely reported being unemployed in the summer of 2020 when he applied for benefits through the New York State Department of Labor.
He allegedly continued to falsely certify his unemployment through the following spring, receiving over $24,000 from the state while employed as a regional director for a Florida investment firm.
The firm, believed to be Harbor City Capital, was forced to shut down in 2021 after the Securities and Exchange Commission called it a “classic Ponzi scheme.”
U.S. Attorney Breon Peace stated that Santos used “repeated dishonesty and deception to ascend to the halls of Congress and enrich himself.”
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He is accused of using political contributions for personal gain, unlawfully applying for unemployment benefits, and lying to the House of Representatives.
The indictment also alleges that Santos defrauded would-be donors to his congressional campaign by soliciting funds to a company he falsely represented as both a social welfare organization and a super PAC supporting his bid for federal office. In reality, the funds were directed to bank accounts controlled by Santos.
Santos is further charged with lying on congressional financial disclosure forms, falsely claiming a $750,000 salary, between $1 million and $5 million in dividends from his firm, and having over $100,000 in a checking account and over $1 million in a savings account.
The DOJ indictment alleges that Santos received more than $24,000 in unemployment insurance benefits from the New York State Department of Labor while earning an annual salary of $120,000 from a Florida investment firm and running for Congress in New York.
His alleged fraudulent behavior continued during his second run for Congress when he reportedly pocketed tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions and laundered them into his own bank accounts to pay down personal debts and buy designer clothing.
House GOP leadership responded to questions about Santos during their weekly press conference.
Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., noted that Santos is no longer serving on committees, and Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., said that Santos had voluntarily stepped down from his committees, as they are committed to rooting out fraud in unemployment pandemic assistance.
“As a retired NYPD Detective, I am confident the justice system will fully reveal Congressman Santos’ long history of deceit, and I once again call on this serial fraudster to resign from office,” Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, a fellow Republican freshman congressman whose district borders Santos’, said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
Santos, who also goes by Anthony Devolder, had previously lied about his resume, falsely claiming employment at two major Wall Street firms, a degree from Baruch College, and Jewish ancestry. He is also facing pending fraud charges in his native Brazil.