Republican George Santos insists he won’t resign regardless of the felony expenses pending in opposition to him
Scandal-plagued Republican congressman George Santos was federally indicted on 10 counts together with id theft, embezzlement, and wire fraud within the Jap District of New York on Tuesday, bringing the whole variety of felony expenses in opposition to him to 23.
The freshman New York consultant, who in 2022 turned the primary overtly homosexual Republican to be elected to the Home, is accused of stealing marketing campaign donors’ identities and utilizing their bank cards to run up hundreds of {dollars} extra in fraudulent expenses, usually in extra of per individual donation limits prescribed by legislation. He additionally allegedly embezzled funds from his firm and conspired along with his former marketing campaign treasurer Nancy Marks to falsify donation totals as a way to qualify for vital quantities of monetary help from the Republican Social gathering and “make the marketing campaign seem extra financially sound than it was,” in response to prosecutors.
The indictment consists of messages between Santos and Marks during which they focus on plans to safe extra Republican money by fictionalizing their fundraising totals. Marks, who resigned from Santos’ staff in January, pleaded responsible final week to at least one depend of conspiracy to defraud the US. She confessed to submitting studies claiming nonexistent donors – together with members of each her and the congressman’s households – had lent the marketing campaign $500,000, regardless of no such loans being made.
The Republican congressman instructed reporters on Tuesday that he had no plans to resign, insisting he was entitled to due course of and would struggle the costs “till the bitter finish.”
Tuesday’s indictment comes along with the 13 federal expenses filed in opposition to Santos in Might, which included seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of cash laundering, one depend of theft of public funds and two counts of constructing materially false statements to the Home. Prosecutors alleged he arrange an organization to fraudulently solicit “marketing campaign contributions” from supporters which he then used for private bills together with designer clothes; he was additionally accused of defrauding the state’s Covid-19 unemployment scheme, having utilized for and obtained advantages regardless of being employed with a six-figure wage on the time.
Santos pleaded not responsible to these expenses, promising to “struggle [his] battle” in opposition to what he described as a “witch hunt.” He confirmed on the time that he nonetheless deliberate to run for re-election in 2024 regardless of pleas from some in his celebration to step down.
Santos’ profession in Congress has been dogged by revelations that he largely fictionalized his private and political historical past – from his skilled resume to his non secular heritage and his prison document – solely to sail right into a contested Home seat with out a lot as a cursory fact-check from the Democratic opposition. He has admitted to “embellishing” his private historical past however has denied wrongdoing.
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