Santos accused of using donor money to buy designer clothes

Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) has been accused of using donations earmarked for his campaign to instead purchase designer clothes for himself.

Santos, who was taken into custody Wednesday morning after turning himself in, is being indicted on 13 federal charges related to accusations of misleading donors and misrepresenting his finances to government agencies.

Eight of these charges — five of the wire fraud counts and three counts of money laundering — are connected with the now-congressman allegedly directing someone in October 2022 to falsely tell potential donors that their funds would be used to buy television advertisements for Santos’s campaign.

Instead, those funds were allegedly transferred to Santos’s personal banking accounts and were used for his “personal benefit,” such as purchasing luxury designer clothing and to make cash withdrawals, credit card payments, a car payment, payments on “personal debts” and at least one transfer to Santos’s personal associates.

When asked if he used donors’ funds to buy “expensive suits,” Santos told reporters after his arraignment, “No, I did not.” He pled not guilty to all 13 federal charges Wednesday at the federal courthouse in Central Islip, New York.

The total charges include 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 of Representatives. If he is convicted on all 13 charges, he can be sentenced a maximum of 20 years in prison.

The charges also accuse the lawmaker of receiving more than $24,000 in unemployment benefits after falsely claiming he was out of work during the pandemic.

“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,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement. “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.”

This wasn’t the first time Santos has come under scrutiny for his actions.

Gregory Morey-Parker, a former roommate of the congressman, said in January that Santos exhibited “delusions of grandeur,” even when they lived together in New York City. 

Morey-Parker explained that Santos’s mother was a housekeeper and it “didn’t seem feasible” that he came from “generational wealth.” He also accused Santos of stealing a Burberry scarf from him and wearing it to an event ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot on the Capitol.

In fact, Santos’s tenure in the House has been laden with criticism after it was revealed that he fabricated much of his resume and personal experience. Democrats and some New York Republicans alike have called on him to resign amid the allegations.