A nonpartisan watchdog group filed a complaint Monday with the Federal Election Commission alleging that Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., violated multiple campaign finance laws.


What You Need To Know

  • A nonpartisan watchdog group filed a complaint Monday with the Federal Election Commission alleging that Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., violated multiple campaign finance laws

  • The Campaign Legal Center calls on the FEC to open an investigation into the freshman congressman, who has admitted to lying about major aspects of his biography, including his education and work history

  • The group accuses Santos of concealing the true sources of his campaign funding, falsifying disclosures about campaign disbursements and illegally using campaign funds to pay for personal expenses

  • Santos’ congressional office said it does not comment on campaign activity; attempts to reach his campaign have been unsuccessful

In the complaint, the Campaign Legal Center calls on the FEC to open an investigation into the freshman congressman, who has admitted to lying about major aspects of his biography, including his education and work history. 

The group accuses Santos of concealing the true sources of his campaign funding, falsifying disclosures about campaign disbursements and illegally using campaign funds to pay for personal expenses.

“Particularly in light of Santos’s mountain of lies about his life and qualifications for office, the Commission should thoroughly investigate what appear to be equally brazen lies about how his campaign raised and spent money,” the complaint reads.

Santos’ congressional office said it does not comment on campaign activity. The campaign has not responded to a voice mail, and an email sent to the campaign’s press address was returned as undeliverable.

Santos reported loaning his campaign more than $700,000 in the 2021-22 election cycle despite listing an income of $55,000 when he ran for Congress in 2020. The Campaign Legal Center said Santos’ claims that he earned millions of dollars in 2021-22 from a consulting business started in May 2021, Devolder Organization LLC, are “vague, uncorroborated, and non-credible in light of his many previous lies.”

The group says the “overall circumstances instead indicate that unknown individuals or corporations may have illegally funneled money to Santos’s campaign through the newly formed Devolder LLC.”

The Campaign Legal Center also argues Santos’ disclosure of disbursements is suspicious, saying 40 expenditures were between $199 and $200 — and 37 of those were for exactly $199.99.

“The sheer number of these just-under-$200 disbursements is implausible, and some payments appear to be impossible given the nature of the item or service covered,” the complaint says. “Accordingly, there is reason to believe Santos’s campaign deliberately falsified its disbursement reporting, among numerous other reporting violations.”

The watchdog also accuses Santos of illegally using campaign funds for personal expenses, including rent on an apartment in Huntington, New York. 

The complaint is made against Santos, his campaign, campaign treasurer Nancy Marks, the Devolder Organization and “unknown persons” who made contributions to the campaign.

The FEC said Monday it does not comment on pending enforcement matters. The regulator has reportedly contacted the Santos campaign more than 20 times over the past two years asking for more information about filings. The campaign has modified several of its filings. 

Most recently, the FEC sent a letter last week saying Santos failed to properly identify some contributors and seems to have accepted donations from three donors that exceeded contribution limits.

The New York Times reported last month, after Santos was elected, that it appears the 34-year-old politician fabricated claims about his education, work experience on Wall Street, charitable endeavors and ownership of real estate properties. He also has claimed that he is Jewish and the descendant of Holocaust survivors, neither of which appear to be true.

Santos later admitted to lying about his resume, education and property ownership. He was sworn in to Congress early Saturday morning, just after Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was voted House speaker.

Federal and local prosecutors are investigating whether Santos committed any crimes involving his finances or lies on the campaign trail, according to multiple reports and the Nassau County, New York, district attorney’s office.

Meanwhile, prosecutors in Brazil said last week they intend to revive a 15-year-old check fraud case against Santos. The case had been suspended because police there were unable to locate him.

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