US congressman George Santos pleads not guilty to fraud and money laundering

Republican congressman George Santos, exposed for lying extensively about his background and campaign finance disclosures, appeared in federal court in New York on Wednesday on multiple charges of fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and false statements.

Mr Santos pleaded not guilty to all 13 counts and agreed to bail of $500,000.

He emerged from the federal courthouse in Central Islip, Long Island, about 70km east of Manhattan, into bright sunshine and allowed a cluster of reporters to gather around him.

“It’s a witch-hunt,” he said, about the government’s case against him and pledged: “I will get to clear my name.”

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He added: “I have plenty of evidence … that will defend my innocence.”

He is not due to appear in court again until June 30th. Having surrendered his passport and given addresses in the New York City borough of Queens and Washington DC, Mr Santos was told by the US magistrate judge Arlene Lindsay that he was allowed to travel to Long Island, New York City and Washington. Travel elsewhere will require advance notice.

Capitol Hill

He was expected to return almost immediately to Capitol Hill, where the House of Representatives is in session.

Mr Santos said: “I have to get back and vote tomorrow” on a Bill put forward by House Republicans mandating hardline restrictions on migration across the US-Mexico border.

Mr Santos’s attorney Joseph Murray said: “He is definitely running for re-election. He is planning to go back to work.”

After the court appearance, the congressman said he would not resign and confirmed he would run for re-election.

Mr Santos surrendered at the courthouse in Central Islip a day after he was informed of the indictment, slipping in through a back door.

The indictment contained seven counts of wire fraud, three of money laundering, one of theft of public money and two of making materially false statements in reports to the House of Representatives.

Mr Santos faces a maximum sentence of 20 years on the top count, the US attorney’s office for the eastern district of New York said. He will not have to relinquish his seat, though members sentenced to at least two years cannot vote or be on committees.

“The allegations in the indictment charge Santos with relying on repeated dishonesty and deception to ascend to the halls of Congress and enrich himself,” US attorney Breon Peace said.

The indictment outlined three alleged fraudulent schemes, including one in which prosecutors said Mr Santos and an unnamed Queens-based consultant induced donors to give money used to pay for luxury goods and personal debts.

The second alleged scheme involved unemployment benefits fraud during the Covid pandemic, when Mr Santos applied for government assistance though he was employed and receiving a $120,000 salary from an investment firm in Florida.

The third alleged scheme involved Mr Santos misleading the House about his financial situation, overstating a source of income without disclosing his salary in May 2020, during his first, unsuccessful run for Congress, then making false statements in September 2022 during his victorious run.

Wall Street dealmaker

The false information prosecutors say Mr Santos included in his second financial disclosure saw significant amounts of money at stake in bizarre circumstances.

Prosecutors alleged Mr Santos falsely certified a $750,000 salary and between $1 million and $5 million in dividends from his company, the Devolder Organisation, and claimed to have $100,000 to $250,000 in a checking account and between $1 million and $5 million in savings.

Mr Santos was elected after a campaign built partly on falsehoods, including that he was a wealthy Wall Street dealmaker and star college athlete. In reality, he did not work at the firms he claimed, did not go to college and struggled financially.

But he has so far managed to evade serious political repercussions, largely as Republicans hold a razor-thin House majority and Mr Santos was a key vote for Kevin McCarthy as he won the speakership.

His most pressing issue until the indictment was an investigation by the House ethics committee, which rarely disciplines members. Mr McCarthy said he would ask Mr Santos to resign if found guilty of the federal charges. - Guardian