The Republican congressman has been indicted for defrauding political supporters. He allegedly used campaign funds to buy clothes for himself, writes the US Department of Justice. He is also charged with having erased personal debt through campaign funds. The Congress representative is being prosecuted for several matters. Here he is pictured earlier this year. Photo: JONATHAN ERNST / Reuters This is the indictment: Seven counts of fraud Three counts of money laundering One count of theft of public funds Two counts of making false statements to the House of Representatives. Santos appeared in court in New York on Wednesday. There he began by pleading not guilty. George Santos met the press on his way out of court on Wednesday. Photo: SHANNON STAPLETON / Reuters – I want to clear my name. It is a witch hunt, says Santons on his way out of court, according to Reuters. He says at the same time that he will not resign from the Congress, and at the same time that he will stand for re-election. Designer clothes and credit cards The Ministry of Justice believes that Santos has also given false statements to the House of Representatives. The Justice Department alleges that Santos created a company and had supporters contribute money under the false pretense that the money would go to his political campaign. Santos also allegedly applied for unemployment benefits, despite the fact that at the time he was employed by an investment firm with an annual salary of $120,000. The congressman has remained in the job, despite several people asking him to resign. Photo: AP Santos is accused of spending thousands of dollars instead on his personal expenses, including luxury designer clothes and credit card payments Earlier this year, the House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into a series of allegations against Santos. Lie about his background In 2022, Santos acknowledged that during the election campaign he told a number of lies about his background. Six weeks after George Santos (34) was elected as a representative for New York, several media were able to report that he had lied about his previous employment, education, finances and family background. – My sins here are that I embellished my CV, Santos told the New York Post newspaper at the time. The young congressman has also acknowledged that he did not work for the major financial players Goldman Sachs and Citigroup in 2011 and 2012, as he claimed. Democrats asked Santos to step down At the time, the representative worked in a call center in the neighborhood of Queens, he confirms to the radio channel WABC. Former Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi was among those who have called on Santos to step down. Several party colleagues have also asked the Congress representative to resign, but he has refused. Several have been demonstrating against Santos outside Capitol Hill, here since February this year. Photo: Reuters Santos has also further confirmed that he does not have an education from New York University and Baruch College, where he claimed to have studied finance and economics until 2010. The universities could find no trace of Santos’ whereabouts when contacted by The New York Times. – I have no university degrees. I am embarrassed and sorry for embellishing my CV. We do stupid things in life, comments Santos in the interview with The Post.
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