| Advertisement |
May 10 (UPI) -- U.S. Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a 13-count federal indictment charging him with wire fraud, money laundering, theft, and lying to Congress. Santos was taken into custody Wednesday morning, CNN, NBC News and The New York Times reported. He was arraigned Wednesday afternoon and pleaded not guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Arlene Lindsay at the federal courthouse in Central Islip, N.Y., before being released on $500,000 bond.
Advertisement
Santos also surrendered his passport to federal authorities. He will be allowed to travel between New York City, Long Island and Washington, D.C., but will need permission to go to any other part of the United States. His next court appearance is scheduled for June 30.
After his release, Santos called the indictment "a witch hunt" and told reporters he will not resign from Congress and will continue his plans to run for re-election.
"I'm going to fight my battle. I'm going to deliver. I'm going to fight the witch hunt. I'm going to take care of clearing my name, and I look forward to doing that," Santos said Wednesday.
"I have to go back and vote," Santos added. "Tomorrow we have one of the most consequential votes in this Congress, which is the border bill, and I'm very looking forward to being there to vote on it."
Meantime, President Joe Biden refused to comment on whether Santos should be expelled from Congress.
"Look, if I comment at all on Santos, you're all going to say I'm getting the Justice Department to do things. I'm not commenting on Santos at all," Biden told reporters Wednesday.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York unsealed the charges against Santos, including seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds, and two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives.
The Justice Department alleged he used campaign contributions for personal expenses, falsely collected more than $24,000 in unemployment benefits by claiming to be unemployed during the COVID-19 pandemic and lied to Congress on financial disclosure forms.
"At the height of the pandemic in 2020, George Santos allegedly applied for and received unemployment benefits while he was employed and running for Congress," said Nassau County District Attorney Donnelly in a statement. "As charged in the indictment, the defendant's alleged behavior continued during his second run for Congress when he pocketed campaign contributions and used that money to pay down personal debts and buy designer clothing."
Among the alleged lies on financial disclosure forms, Santos claimed to have earned $750,000 in salary from the Devolder Organization LLC, a Florida-based entity he solely owned.
He also claimed to have received between $1,000,001 and $5,000,000 in dividends from the Devolder Organization LLC. He also falsely claimed to have had checking account deposits between $100,001 and $250,000 and savings accounts worth between $1,000,001 and $5,000,000.
"This indictment seeks to hold Santos accountable for various alleged fraudulent schemes and brazen misrepresentations," United States Attorney Peace said. "Taken together, the allegations in the indictment charge Santos with relying on repeated dishonesty and deception to ascend to the halls of Congress and enrich himself. He used political contributions to line his pockets, unlawfully applied for unemployment benefits that should have gone to New Yorkers who had lost their jobs due to the pandemic, and lied to the House of Representatives."
The charges against Santos resulted from a collaboration between county authorities, the U.S. Attorney's Office, the Department of Justice and the FBI.
The U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, the New York State Department of Labor and the Queens County District Attorney's Office assisted in the Santos investigation.
According to the indictment, Santos also allegedly defrauded prospective political supporters by using a limited liability company he formed in September 2022 during his successful congressional campaign. The indictment said Santos took at least two campaign contributions of $25,000 each through that company and transferred the money into his personal accounts.
He then used the money, according to the indictment, to buy clothing, withdraw cash, pay personal debts and to transfer money to his associates.
Santos was embroiled in a number of scandals involving lies about everything from his family background to education and work experience. In March the House Ethics Committee began investigating Santos after a unanimous vote.
