US Representative George Santos pleads not guilty to 13 federal charges News
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US Representative George Santos pleads not guilty to 13 federal charges

US Representative George Santos (R-NY) pleaded not guilty Wednesday to 13 federal crimes after a grand jury indicted him over alleged campaign finance and unemployment benefits schemes.

Federal prosecutors charged Santos, who was elected to the House of Representatives for New York’s Third Congressional District in November, with 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.

The indictment alleges that between September and October 2022, Santos fraudulently induced his campaign supporters to contribute funds to an unnamed company that his company, Devolder Organization LLC, managed under the pretense that they were donating the money to his campaign. The DOJ claims that Santos then used the funds for personal expenses.

The indictment claims that in counts one through five of wire fraud, Santos and an unnamed individual sent emails and text messages on behalf of the unnamed company to request funds from campaign supporters.

Counts six through eight allege that, between October 21, 2022 and October 26, 2022, Santos transferred funds derived from the alleged wire fraud to his own bank accounts.

Count nine alleges that Santos embezzled over $1,000 in US Treasury funds between June 2020 and April 2021 by fraudulently applying for COVID pandemic-related unemployment benefits.

Counts 10 and 11 allege that Santos obtained these funds from the New York State Department of Labor (NYS DOL) by making false and fraudulent statements.

Counts 12 and 13 allege that Santos made false statements about his income in two House Disclosure Reports that he filed ahead of the 2020 and 2022 House of Representatives elections.

United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace said in a statement that:

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.

Santos is expected to make his first court appearance on the charges Wednesday afternoon

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