US Congressman George Santos faces 10 new criminal charges that accuse him of stealing donors’ identities and credit cards

George Santos was criminally charged with stealing the identities of his donors and using their credit cards to spend tens of thousands of dollars.

Prosecutors said some of that stolen money ended up in his own bank account.

The 23-count indictment replaces an earlier one filed against the New York Republican that charged him with embezzling campaign funds and lying to Congress about his wealth, among other offenses.

Last week, his former campaign treasurer agreed to plead guilty to fraud.

The new charges include allegations that he charged his campaign more than $44,000 over a period of months using cards belonging to contributors without their knowledge.

In one instance, the 35-year-old charged $12,000 to a contributor’s credit card and transferred the “vast majority” of that money into his personal bank account, prosecutors said.

George Santos, seen on Sept. 29, now faces 23 federal charges: 10 more were added Tuesday

Santos, a Republican who represents New York, refuses to resign and insists he is the victim of a “witch hunt.”

Santos is also accused of falsely reporting to the Federal Election Commission that he loaned $500,000 to his campaign in an attempt to convince Republican Party officials that he was a serious candidate, when he actually loaned less than $8,000 had in his personal accounts.

“Allegedly, Santos is accused of stealing people’s identities and making charges to his own donors’ credit cards without their authorization, of lying to the FEC and, by extension, the public about the financial status of his campaign,” says Breon Peace, USA. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

Santos did not comment.

He previously maintained his innocence and insisted he was the victim of a ‘witch hunt’.

The new charges deepen the legal jeopardy for Santos, who likely faces a lengthy prison term if convicted.

So far he has resisted all calls to resign, insisting he intends to run for re-election next year.

Santos’ personal and professional biography as a wealthy businessman began to unravel shortly after he won election to represent Long Island and Queens last year, revealing a tangled web of deception.

In addition to lying to voters — about his distinguished Wall Street background, Jewish heritage, academic and athletic achievements, animal rescue work, real estate ownership and more — Santos is accused of running numerous fraud schemes designed to enrich himself and defraud his donors .

He was initially arrested in May on a 13-count federal indictment, which accused him of using funds earmarked for campaign spending on designer clothes and other personal expenses and improperly obtaining unemployment benefits intended for Americans who lost jobs due to the pandemic.

Free on bail awaiting trial, Santos described his litany of lies as victimless embellishments, while blaming some of his financial irregularities on his former treasurer, Nancy Marks, who he claimed had ‘gone rogue’.

Nancy Marks served as treasurer for George Santos’ campaign

Breon Peace, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, is leading the prosecution of Santos

Last week, Marks, a longtime political bookkeeper from Long Island and close associate of Santos, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud, telling a judge that she helped her former boss scam prospective donors and Republican party officials by filing false campaign finance reports.

Tuesday’s indictment said Marks and Santos engaged in the same scheme to falsify a $500,000 campaign loan to meet a benchmark that would unlock additional support from a Republican Party committee.

Santos has now also been accused of taking fake donations from at least 10 people, all his or Marks’ family members, as part of the same effort to make the campaign look like it met those fundraising goals.

Santos was not initially charged in the criminal complaint against Marks, but was identified as a “co-conspirator” in court documents.

The new indictment alleges multiple frauds by Santos, who allegedly deceived both his donors and his family members.

In one instance, Santos allegedly swiped the credit card information of one of his contributors, who had already donated $5,800 to the campaign, to give himself an additional $15,800 in payments, the indictment said.

Because the unauthorized charges exceeded contribution limits under federal law, Santos listed the additional payments as coming from his own unwitting family members, prosecutors allege.

Financial questions continued to swirl around Santos, who claimed to be wealthy but spent much of his adulthood between low-paying jobs and unemployment while facing eviction cases and two separate criminal charges related to his use of bad bounced checks.

A separate fundraiser for Santos, Sam Miele, was also previously indicted on federal charges that he impersonated a high-ranking congressional aide while soliciting contributions for the Republican’s campaign.

Prosecutors said Miele, 27, impersonated the former chief of staff to Kevin McCarthy, who was then the House minority leader, by setting up fake email addresses that resembled the staffer’s name.

Miele’s attorney, Kevin Marino, previously predicted his client would be acquitted at trial.

Santos was due back in court on October 27 on the original indictment.