US Republican George Santos, infamous for fabricating his life story, has pleaded not guilty to charges he duped donors, stole from his campaign and lied to Congress about being a millionaire, all while cheating to collect unemployment benefits he didn't deserve.
Afterward, he said he wouldn't drop his reelection bid and defied calls to resign.
Santos' 13-count federal indictment was a reckoning for a web of fraud and deceit that prosecutors say overlapped with the New York Republican's fantastical public image as a wealthy businessman — a fictional biography that began to unravel after he won election last fall.
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Santos, 34, was released on $USD500,000 ($736,000) bond following his arraignment, about five hours after turning himself in to face charges of wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and making false statements to Congress.
He surrendered his passport and could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
“This is the beginning of the ability for me to address and defend myself," a cheerfully combative Santos told reporters swarming him outside a Long Island federal courthouse.
He said he's been cooperating with the investigation and vowed to fight the prosecution, which he labeled a “witch hunt".
His lawyer, Joseph Murray, was more circumspect, saying: “Any time the federal government comes after you it’s a serious case. We have to take this serious.”
Santos said he planned to return to Washington, where the indictment is amplifying doubts about the freshman's ability to serve.
House Republican leaders are taking a wait-and-see approach, saying Santos is innocent until proven guilty.
Others are reiterating previous calls for Santos to step aside.
“I think we’re seeing that the wheels of justice grind slow, but they grind fine,” said Senator Mitt Romney, a Utah Republican who confronted Santos on the House floor at President Joe Biden's State of the Union address in February.
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Asked about Santos on Wednesday, Biden said, “I’m not commenting,” adding that anything he said would be construed by some interfering in the investigation.
Asked if Congress should expel Santos, Biden said, “that’s for Congress to decide".
Among the allegations, prosecutors say Santos created a company and then induced supporters to donate to it under the false pretense that the money would be used to support his campaign.
Instead, they say, he used the money for personal expenses, including designer clothes and credit card and car payments.
Santos also is accused of lying about his finances on congressional disclosure forms and obtaining unemployment benefits while he was making $USD120,000 ($176,740) as regional director of an investment firm that the government shut down in 2021 over allegations that it was a Ponzi scheme.
The indictment “seeks to hold Santos accountable for various alleged fraudulent schemes and brazen misrepresentations,” US Attorney Breon Peace said.
“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."
Santos didn’t directly address the specifics of the charges to reporters, but when asked why he received unemployment benefits while employed, Santos cited a job change and confusion during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Santos, sporting his usual crewneck sweater, blazer and khakis, said little during the arraignment, which lasted about 15 minutes.
Reporters spilled from the gallery to the jury box, joined by a handful of constituents.
“He should be thrown out of Congress and put in prison,” declared Jeff Herzberg, a Long Island resident who spent hours waiting to see Santos' arraignment.
“I hope that day comes soon.”
Santos was elected to Congress last fall after a campaign built partly on falsehoods.
He told people he was a wealthy Wall Street dealmaker with a substantial real estate portfolio who had been a star volleyball player in college, among other things.
In reality, Santos didn't work at the big financial firms he said employed him, didn't go to college and struggled financially before entering politics.
He claimed he fueled his run largely with self-made riches earned from brokering deals on expensive toys for wealthy clients, but the indictment alleges those boasts were also exaggerated.
In a House financial disclosure form, Santos reported making $USD750,000 ($1.1 million) a year from a family company, the Devolder Organization, but the charges unsealed Wednesday allege that Santos never received that sum, nor the $1 million and $5 million in dividends he listed as coming from the firm.
Santos has described the Devolder Organization as a broker for sales of luxury items like yachts and aircraft.
The business was incorporated in Florida shortly after Santos stopped working for Harbor City Capital, the company accused by federal authorities of operating an illegal Ponzi scheme.
In November 2021, Santos formed Redstone Strategies, a Florida company that federal prosecutors say he used to dupe donors into financing his lifestyle.
According to the indictment, Santos told an associate to solicit contributions to the company and gave the person contact information for potential donors.
Emails to prospective donors falsely claimed the company was formed “exclusively” to aid Santos’ election bid and that there would be no limits on how much they could contribute, the indictment said.
Santos falsely claimed the money would be spent on television ads and other campaign expenses, it said.
But a month before his election, Santos transferred about $74,000 from the company to bank accounts he maintained, the indictment said.
He also transferred money to some of his associates, it said.
Santos' legal troubles date to his late teens, when he was investigated in Brazil for allegedly using stolen checks to buy clothes — a case that authorities say they've since reopened.
In 2017, Santos was charged with theft in Pennsylvania for allegedly using thousands of dollars in bogus checks to buy puppies from breeders.
That case was dismissed after Santos claimed his checkbook was stolen and someone else took the dogs.
Federal authorities have separately been looking into complaints about Santos' fundraising for a group that purported to help abused pets.
A New Jersey veteran accused Santos of failing to deliver $3,000 he raised to help his dog get needed surgery.
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