U.S. Representative George Santos (R-NY) chats with his Condition of the Union guest and customers of his workers as they put together for the night in Santos’s business on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. February 7, 2023.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., was charged by federal prosecutors for an array of crimes, together with fraud, theft, income laundering and building false statements.
Santos was in custody Wednesday early morning. His arraignment was established for Wednesday afternoon in federal court in Extended Island, New York.
“This indictment seeks to hold Santos accountable for many alleged fraudulent strategies and brazen misrepresentations,” U.S. Lawyer Breon Peace claimed in a press release.
“Taken with each other, the allegations in this indictment charge Santos with relying on repeated dishonesty and deception to ascend to the halls of Congress and enrich himself,” Peace said.
The 13-count indictment alleges Santos put in marketing campaign money on luxury garments and vehicle payments, fraudulently been given a lot more than $24,000 in unemployment added benefits and described phony earnings and asset facts on Dwelling disclosure varieties.
Santos’ attorney and a spokeswoman for his congressional office environment did not quickly answer to CNBC’s requests for remark.
The felony expenses follow a mountain of scandals that have weighed Santos down due to the fact just before he was sworn into Congress in January. The freshman Republican weeks before introduced his 2024 reelection campaign, rebuffing critics from each events who experienced termed for his resignation.
Santos faces a optimum penalty of 20 decades in prison for the prime costs in opposition to him, in accordance to the Justice Department.
This is breaking news. Make sure you test back again for updates.
