Rep. George Santos in custody on federal charges

George Santos, a Republican congressman from New York, has surrendered to federal agents and is in custody facing federal charges.

Most of the charges relate to Santos' recently improved financial situation. For years, Santos struggled to pay his rent and had been threatened with eviction on multiple occasions, the AP reported. However, Santos claimed on financial disclosure forms that Devolder Organization, a luxury-item brokering firm established in Florida two years ago, has since paid him $750,000 a year. He also claimed to have received a total of $6 million in dividends from Devolder as well, though prosecutors said the firm never gave him any of that money.

Santos has also been accused of establishing Redstone Strategies, another Florida company, in 2021 to raise money for his political campaign but then using the money for personal expenses such as designer clothes and debt payments. In October 2022, just a month before his election, he wired tens of thousands of dollars from that company's account to a personal account and to accounts belonging to some of his associates, the indictment claimed. The month before, he may have set up yet another LLC and twice funneled $25,000 in campaign contributions from the company's account to a personal account.

Additionally, there are allegations that Santos illicitly collected $24,000 in unemployment benefits during the government shutdown for COVID. The indictment claimed that Santos applied for and received the benefits in 2020, even as he remained employed with an investment firm that has since been investigated as a Ponzi scheme.

"This indictment seeks to hold Santos accountable for various alleged fraudulent schemes and brazen misrepresentations," said a statement from U.S. Attorney Breon Peace. "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 investigation into Santos has been a cooperative effort between county authorities, the U.S. Attorney's Office, the Department of Justice, and the FBI. He was charged on Tuesday evening by prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York, and he was taken into federal custody on Wednesday. He currently faces 13 counts, including wire fraud, money laundering, theft, and lying to Congress. He also remains the subject of a House Ethics Committee investigation.

Santos, 34, represents New York's third district, which includes portions of Queens and Nassau Counties on Long Island. It is reportedly the wealthiest district in New York and the fourth wealthiest in the nation. Santos admitted that he exaggerated some of his biographical information to improve his political prospects, but has repeatedly denied "the more serious allegations," ABC7 reported. Last month, he announced he would run for re-election.

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