Aug. 16 (UPI) -- An aide to Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., allegedly impersonated the chief of staff of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in order to solicit donations, according to a federal indictment unsealed Wednesday.
Samuel Miele, the aide, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Brooklyn and charged with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, according to court records obtained by UPI.
He was arraigned Wednesday morning and pleaded not guilty, The New York Times reported. He was released on a $150,000 bond.
Santos was not named in the indictment but was identified in a subsequent letter to the court from U.S. Attorney Breon Peace noting that the case is related to the federal indictment against Santos, court records obtained by UPI show.
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The Republican lawmaker has been charged with five counts of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering for his alleged attempts to "defraud prospective contributors purported independent expenditure committee that would support his campaign."
The indictment accused Miele of impersonating the McCarthy aide in email and telephone communications from August 2021 to December 2021. It said he even created an email account using the first letter and full last name of the McCarthy aide, signing emails using the aide's name and title.
Miele received a 15% commission for each contribution, according to the indictment.
In an email to Santos in September 2022, Meile allegedly admitted to "faking my identity to a big donor" but said he was a "high risk, high reward" kind of person.
"To be clear, while the two cases arise out of overlapping events, the criminal schemes charged in the two cases are distinct," Peace added in his letter to the court.
Peace's letter made the disclosure under court rules requiring prosecutors to note when two cases arise from overlapping incidents.
"As the cases may be presumptively related, the government respectfully provides notice that reassignment may be appropriate, as it may result in a significant savings of judicial resources and serve the interests of justice," Peace added.
Peace is also prosecuting the case against Santos, whose next court date is scheduled for Sept. 7. Santos is free on a $500,000 bond provided by his father and aunt. He has also pleaded not guilty to his charges.
