In their complaint, Torres and Goldman allege that Santos's financial disclosure reports for 2020 and 2022 are "sparse and perplexing," and claim the Republican's public statements "have . The origin of Santoss newfound wealth has intrigued legal and political experts for another reason: It fueled the large loans he made to his campaign. The most egregious straw donor scheme is one that actually involves the candidate itself, Ghosh said. The secret identities of Republican Rep. George Santos' bail backers in his federal criminal case were revealed to be members of his family, court filings showed Thursday. DEsposito filed his 2023 statement on June 20, after Newsday had contacted his office five days earlier about it. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Santos wrote on Twitter Wednesday, amid calls from some other House . The embattled congressman has since taken his oath of office and will be allowed to sit on congressional committees, a key job responsibility. But some ethics attorneys are reassessing the shrugs at nonfilers now that Santos (R-Nassau/Queens) faces an ethics committee investigation that could lead to his ouster from office and a 13-count federal indictment with chargesthat could land him in prison. "There is no respect for the rules or the voters.". Best Debt Consolidation Loans for Bad Credit, Personal Loans for 580 Credit Score or Lower, Personal Loans for 670 Credit Score or Lower. The filings list payments claimed to a spectrum of retailers, including Best Buy, Uber and a Long Island restaurant, Il Bacco Restaurante, where Santosclaimed more than $25,000in campaign expenses over the 2020 and 2022 cycles. 2022 Full-year Results Announcement and Presentation. Erin Mansfield USA TODAY 0:00 0:33 Santos reported very little earnings and no assets in 2019 and 2020. His lawyer then asked U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert if it would be possible to find a compromise, such as disclosing that the suretors were Santos' family members without identifying them specifically. The late congressman Jim Traficant, Democrat of Ohio, was convicted on charges of corruption in 2002. At the time, Santos was running an ultimately unsuccessful campaign for the Long Island congressional seat and loaning his campaign money, according to records from the Federal Election Commission. A federal court released the names of his so-called sureties after rejecting Santos bid to keep them secret. National Republican Congressional Committee's website. Congressman George Santos is facing multiple investigations over his personal and campaign finances and lies about his resume and family heritage. "I am Catholic. Now, the embattled congressman is facing probes by state and federal prosecutors, as well as complaints to the Federal Election Commission and a congressional ethics committee regarding his financial disclosures. Santos was not charged with a crime in connection to that SEC case and has denied knowledge of alleged wrongdoing. New campaign disclosures from embattled Rep. George Santos suggest that at least $625,000 in campaign loans he had previously reported as self-funded might not be sourced from his "personal funds." Campaign finance experts say Santos, R-N.Y., may be violating campaign finance laws by not properly disclosing the original sources of those loans. 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Everyone running for Congress by law must file an annual financial disclosure statement for the public to review, but a Newsday analysis found more than a third of New Yorkers running for U.S. House seats last year did not file and that late and flawed reports are common. That transposition rendered it tough to find online. Santos' latest financial disclosure says he made $750,000 from 2021 through 2022 from his company, the Devolder Organization. https://efdsearch.senate.gov/search/home/, https://disclosures-clerk.house.gov/PublicDisclosure/FinancialDisclosure. In the COVID pandemic year of 2020, 45% of those running in the primary did not file a jump from the pre-pandemic election in 2018, when just under 20%of candidatesfailed to file. Santos has said the funds came from his company, the Devolder Organization whichThe Washington Post reports was organized just one month before the Republican declared his latest candidacy in 2021. The abbreviation is an apparent reference to his full initials for George Anthony Devolder Santos. She recalled Santos bragging about buying a $10,000-plus . He had taken numerous steps to try to keep his sureties names private. Santos loaned more than $800,000 to his campaign and PACs. When Santos filed his 2022 House financial disclosure statement, he may have either overlooked or dismissed a checkbox before the line for his signature certifying the statements he made on the report are true, complete and correct.. A controversial donor, who along with his apparent domestic partner gave a combined $34,500 to Santos, is Andrew Intrater, the CEO of a company which once had ties to a sanctioned Russian oligarch Intrater is the CEO of Sparrow Capital an investment firm formerly known as Columbus Nova. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Santos may have usedhis newfoundwealth to loan additional money to his congressional campaign. Cheng Gao, an immigrant from China with a Trump Tower apartment who also attended the former president's2017 inauguration, gave $11,200 to Santos for his 2022 campaign. Credit: Howard Schnapp. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. A consortium of news outlets, including NBC News, followed suit, arguing, "Rep. Santos cannot overcome the presumption of openness" afforded by the First Amendment and federal common law. If youre looking at a $20 million yacht, my referral fee there can be anywhere between $200,000 and $400,000, Santos told Semafor. Santos is also under scrutiny for filing dozens of campaign expenditures of $199.99 one penny shy of the minimum payment for which the FEC requires proof of purchase. He was sentenced to time served and three years of supervised release. By clicking Sign up, you agree to our privacy policy. In 2022, Santos elected to Congress in November reported millions of dollars in asserts, including a massive income and pricey apartment in Brazil. If Santos is charged and convicted for campaign finance crimes, Kappel says, "he, his campaign committee and possibly some of his donors will also be hit with civil penalties by the FEC." admitted to fabricating major parts of his resume, two Democratsfiled a complaint with the House Ethics Committee, NY Republicans call for George Santos to resign, McCarthy won't remove him. On Tuesday, two Democrats filed a complaint with the House Ethics Committee raising questions about Santos' financial disclosures, after he claimed almost no assets or income in 2020, but by the next year said he had a condo in Brazil and $750,000 in salary through his own company that was valued at up to $5 million. In 2021, shortly after launching his second bid for Congress, Santos filed paperwork to create a new limited liability company in Florida, Devolder Organization LLC. On Tuesday, two Democratsfiled a complaint with the House Ethics Committee raising questions about Santos financial disclosures,after he claimed almost no assets or income in 2020, but by the next year said he had a condo in Brazil and $750,000 in salary through his own company that was valued at up to $5 million. Rep. Santos questioned, but no clear answers to background inquiries. Santos: Possibly the worst service I've ever had - See 95 traveler reviews, 46 candid photos, and great deals for Nuremberg, Germany, at Tripadvisor. He had several joint fundraising partner committees, and a leadership PAC that helped him raise millions of dollars. The point of the financial disclosures, according to the law that created them, is to inform the public about the financial interests of candidates, legislators and federal officials to increase confidence in the integrity of government and to deter potential conflicts of interest. Writing a $25,000 check in one sitting that is well above the limit that you can give to those three committees that is a more unusual and frankly troubling scenario because thats just well beyond the limits for those committees, Weiner said. A third suretor was referenced at an earlier bail hearing, but that person never showed up and the court is "unaware of their identity," Shields wrote. Rep.-elect George Santos is under federal investigation, outlets including The New York Times and CBS News report, after a number of admitted fabrications about his background have led to questions about his finances. But the federal judge overseeing his case ordered that their names be made public Thursday at noon ET. In his first disclosure to the House,filed in May 2020, Santos reported a commission bonus worth somewhere north of $5,000 from a New York company called LinkBridge Investors. House Ethics Committeerulessay that candidates and new members must disclose any clients that paid more than $5,000 for services that the candidate or member personally performed. Those are questions thatcritics are now raising about Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., who weeks ago admitted to fabricating major parts of his resume. That donation to the son of Brazilian immigrants who campaigned as tough on immigration, drew attention after the Daily Beast reported that Oppedisano had pleaded guilty to smuggling undocumented migrants into the U.S. in 2019. Members of the editorial boardare experienced journalists who offer reasoned opinions, based on facts, to encourage informed debate about the issues facing our community. Brett Kappel, an attorney with Harmon Curran, told CBS News that accepting donations from foreign nationals who are not legal residents of the U.S. is a crime under the Federal Election Campaign Act. Santos, 34, is accused of defrauding his campaign supporters, lying to obtain unemployment money during the coronavirus pandemic and making false statements on his congressional disclosure forms. In 2019, for example, the office alleged loans that Rep. Lori Trahan (D-Mass.) The secret identities of Republican Rep. George Santos' bail backers in his federal criminal case were revealed to be members of his family, a court filing revealed. Perhaps significantly in retrospect, Santos failed to . 2023 CNBC LLC. Santos "sought to have this information sealed to protect his family from publicity and possible harassment." Then, in 2022, Santosreportedbringing in a $750,000 salary from his new company, Devolder, along with holding between $1 million and $5 million in a savings account, between $100,001 and $250,000 in a checking account, and an apartment in Rio de Janeiro valued between $500,001 and $1,000,000.