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In a 23-count superseding indictment filed in US District Court in the Eastern District on Tuesday, Oct. 10, prosecutors outlined two new schemes that allegedly helped the freshman Republican lawmaker cheat his way into office.
The first, dubbed the “Credit Card Fraud Scheme,” allegedly took place between December 2021 and August 2022. Prosecutors say Santos stole the personal identity and financial information of contributors to his campaign.
He then made repeated charges to their credit cards without their permission, prosecutors said. Additional funds reportedly went to the campaigns of other candidates for office and to Santos’ personal bank account.
In order to hide the true source of the funds and to circumvent campaign contribution limits, Santos is accused of falsely claiming that some of the money came from relatives or colleagues.
Prosecutors highlighted one instance in December 2021 in which Santos allegedly used a donor’s credit card information to make numerous contributions to his campaign and related political committees without the donor’s knowledge.
“In the following months, Santos repeatedly charged the contributor’s credit card without the contributor’s knowledge or authorization, attempting to make at least $44,800 in charges and repeatedly concealing the true source of funds by falsely listing the source of funds as Santos himself, his relatives and other contributors,” reads the indictment.
On one occasion, Santos allegedly charged $12,000 to the donor’s credit card before allegedly transferring the bulk of the money into his personal bank account.
The "Party Program Scheme"
The second alleged scheme involved Santos’ former campaign treasurer Nancy Marks, who has already pleaded guilty to a felony count of conspiracy for her involvement.
According to prosecutors, Santos and Marks submitted false reports to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) during his 2022 congressional campaign, inflating their fundraising numbers.
The reason for doing so, prosecutors said, was to ensure that Santos and his campaign qualified for financial and logistical support from the National Republican Congressional Committee
In order to qualify for the program, Santos had to show that, among other things, his campaign had raised at least $250,000 from third-party contributors in a single quarter.
Santos and Marks accomplished this by falsely reporting to the FEC that at least 10 of their relatives had made significant financial contributions, prosecutors allege.
“Santos and Marks both knew that these individuals had neither made the reported contributions nor given authorization for their personal information to be included in such false public reports,” reads the indictment.
“In addition, understanding that the national party committee relied on FEC fundraising data to evaluate candidates’ qualification for the program, Santos and Marks agreed to falsely report to the FEC that Santos had loaned the campaign significant sums of money, when, in fact, Santos had not made the reported loans and, at the time the loans were reported, did not have the funds necessary to make such loans.”
Among the loans that Santos claimed to have made to his campaign was one for $500,000 when he actually had less than $8,000 at the time, prosecutors said.
The 34-year-old Santos, whose 3rd District represents parts of Nassau County and Queens, previously pleaded not guilty to 13 federal charges in May 2023, including wire fraud, money laundering, and making false statements on federal disclosure forms.
Tuesday’s indictment included the following new charges:
- One count of conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States
- Two counts of wire fraud
- Two counts of making materially false statements to the FEC
- Two counts of falsifying records submitted to obstruct the FEC
- Two counts of aggravated identity theft
- One count of access device fraud
Santos is scheduled to be arraigned on the new charges in federal court in Central Islip on Friday, Oct. 27.
Defiant in Wake of Charges
Speaking to reporters outside the courthouse in May, Santos took a page from former President Donald Trump’s playbook and blasted the criminal case as a “witch hunt,” and said he has “plenty of evidence” to prove his innocence.
“I have my right to fight to prove my innocence as the government has the right to try to find me guilty,” he said at the time.
Asked whether he would resign his seat in Congress, Santos said he would not and again vowed to seek re-election in 2024.
Santos had not addressed the latest charges as of Tuesday evening.
Related Coverage:
Trio Of Schemes That Led To Santos Arrest Detailed By Feds; Rep Not Resigning Over 'Witch Hunt'
Embattled Nassau Rep. George Santos 'Proudly' Announces Re-Election Bid: 'We Need A Fighter'
'High Risk, High Reward': Santos Staffer Impersonated Speaker's Aide To Fundraise, Feds Say
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