US Republican Rep. Santos (34, New York), who is suspected of falsifying his background, was arrested by federal prosecutors on the 10th. A grand jury indicted him on 13 counts as of Thursday, including fraud and money laundering, embezzlement and fraud. The indictment was released on the 10th.
Santos has been under investigation for five months since he was elected to the House of Representatives last November. The defendant will appear in federal district court in Long Island, New York on the afternoon of the 10th and will arraign.
Defendant Santos (at the US Capitol in Washington, D.C.)
Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg
U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace said in a statement that Santos “diverted political donations for personal use and fraudulent unemployment insurance that was supposed to go to New Yorkers who lost their jobs during the pandemic.” charged and made false statements in the House of Commons.”
Santos received $24,744 in unemployment benefits from the New York State Department of Labor between March 22, 2020 and April 15, 2021, according to the indictment. During this time, he was earning around $120,000 a year as a regional director for an investment firm.
After being elected to Congress last year, he co-wrote a bill purported to protect taxpayers and the unemployed from fraud. The bill includes exemptions from repayment of up to 25% of overpayments and an extension of the statute of limitations for unemployment insurance fraud to 10 years.
Original title:George Santos Charged With Fraud, Theft, Money Laundering (3)(excerpt)
Santos Scammed $25,000 in Covid Jobless Perks, Prosecutors Say(excerpt)
#Republican #Rep #Santos #indicted #prosecutors #fraud #money #laundering
2023-05-10 14:54:09
