George Santos flees from reporters asking about his 10 new criminal charges

Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn on Tuesday issued an updated indictment with ten new criminal charges against out Rep. George Santos (R-NY). The new charges accuse him of fraudulently charging tens of thousands of dollars to his own donors’ credit cards, faking a $500,000 loan to his own campaign, and filing false campaign finance reports reflecting fake contributions from real people who didn’t give their permission.

He now faces a total of 23 federal fraud and financial charges. Though he hasn’t entered a plea on the new charges, when asked about them on Tuesday evening, the 35-year-old congressman claimed not to have heard about them before rushing into his office and slamming the door on reporters.

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In addition to the 13 charges already facing him, the updated indictment charged Santos with one count of conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States, two counts of wire fraud, two counts of making materially false statements to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), two counts of falsifying records submitted to obstruct the FEC, two counts of aggravated identity theft and one count of access device fraud, Politico reported.

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In the indictment, prosecutors alleged that, from December 2021 to August 2022, Santos charged $44,800 to a donor’s credit card and deposited $12,000 into his personal bank account.

The indictment also builds off of claims made by Santos’ former advisor and campaign treasurer, Nancy Marks, who accused Santos of giving the FEC a fake list of donors, listing the names of real people who had neither donated nor given his campaign permission to use their names. These people included ten people from Santos’ and Marks’ families.

Marks, who recently pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the U.S. government, claimed that Santos lied about these donors in order “to make it look like he had a well-funded campaign, which might attract other donors.”

Prosecutors alleged Santos filed fraudulent campaign finance filings to ensure that his campaign qualified for a “national party committee” program that would provide financial and logistical support to Santos’s bid for Congress, The Hill reported.

Marks’ lawyer indicated that she’s willing to testify against Santos in his upcoming trial. Santos’ next court appearance is scheduled for October 27. He has not yet entered a plea on the ten new charges facing him.

Breon Peace, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said, “Santos falsely inflated the campaign’s reported receipts with non-existent loans and contributions that were either fabricated or stolen. This Office will relentlessly pursue criminal charges against anyone who uses the electoral process as an opportunity to defraud the public and our government institutions.”

When asked about the charges on Tuesday evening, Santos told CNN’s Manu Raju, “I did not have access to my phone. I have no clue what you guys are talking about.”

Though Santos told reporters, “I’m going to fight the witch hunt. I’m going to take care of clearing my name.” Raju wrote that Santos then “rushed into his office and slammed his door on us.”

In May, Santos was charged in federal court with seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives, and one count of theft of public funds. Prosecutors allege that he illegally used campaign funds to buy designer clothes and other personal items. He has tried to fundraise off of these criminal charges.

Since joining Congress, Santos has cosponsored a bill to roll back LGBTQ+ civil rights and one to ban LGBTQ+ books from schools. He has also made public statements against transgender people and the so-called “radical rainbow mafia.” He also said that LGBTQ+ families “create troubled individuals.”