Rep. George Santos (R. N. Y. ) allegedly used a shadowy Florida-based LLC to funnel thousands of dollars from donors into his own bank accounts, and used that cash for non-public expenses, adding on Hermes and Onlyfans, House Ethics. The committee said in an explosive report Thursday that this could lead to his expulsion from Congress.
Santos and his affiliates falsely told donors that an organization called RedStone Strategies LLC an “independent spending committee” created to support his candidacy, the committee claimed, but the company never registered with the Federal Election Commission.
Instead, RedStone allegedly used to transfer at least $200,000 to Santos’ non-public accounts, the committee wrote in its 56-page report, mentioning bank statements it obtained.
The report shows new main points about how Santos spent money from RedStone, who was first named in a New York Times report in January and amid the Justice Department’s 13-count indictment against Santos filed in May, with prosecutors alleging that he and his affiliates solicited cash for the company (which is not explicitly mentioned in the case). the indictment) by falsely claiming that the cash would be used for publicity and other expenses of the crusade.
In October of last year, the committee claimed that Santos had transferred $50,000 from two separate RedStone contributions of $25,000 to his own bank accounts: the cash had been used to spend $4,127 at Hermes, make small purchases on the streaming service Onlyfans and cosmetics store Sephora, and pay off credit card debt and grocery and parking purchases.
In April 2022, the committee alleges that Santos ordered a staff member to transfer $6,000 to RedStone’s account from a state political action committee called RISE created through his sister and former crusade treasurer Nancy Marks, claiming it for expenses. of advertising, and then transferred them to your account. . own checking account, which had a balance of $137 before the move.
RedStone was founded in November 2021, shortly after Santos came under political scrutiny for his alleged association with an organization of the same name, Red Strategies USA LLC, according to the ethics committee.
Although he has publicly stated that he has no association with Red Stone, Santos has introduced himself as his managing spouse on contracts, his tax returns show he earned $172,298 in reimbursement from the company, exchanged text messages with his spouse Jayson Benoit relating to the formation of the company, and both were on the list of legal signers of his checking and savings accounts, wrote the ethics committee.
Santos convinced another anonymous congressional campaign to rent Red Strategies for services valued at $110,000, claiming it was “a campaign organization widely used by many Mar-A-Lago politicians,” but insisted he had no involvement in the company, just to campaign for the objective of the crusade. One of his workers reportedly told the committee.
Santos has denied all allegations of misconduct similar to his crusade financial activity, vowing in October to “fight to the end” to prove his innocence, while denying all charges against him. Forbes reached out to his attorney and spokesperson about RedStone’s allegations.
“Santos’ fraudulent activities through RedStone were one of many tactics he sought to exploit his crusade and the wealthy donors he introduced to him, for his own benefit,” the committee wrote. “These moves did not reflect well on the House and resulted in Rep. Santos’ failure to enforce U. S. legislation and regulations. “
The House Ethics Committee on Thursday released the results of its investigation into Santos’ conduct, alleging that he “brazenly stole his crusade” and “sought to fraudulently exploit each and every facet of his House candidacy to their own non-public monetary benefit. ” In addition to RedStone, the committee said Santos used various outfits to obtain loans from his crusade coffers, adding that he falsely reported more than $820,000 in loans to his crusade committee and affiliated political organizations during the 2020 and 2020 election cycles. 2022, many of which were never awarded. “was improperly carried out and reimbursed. The report also points out unverified expenses from Santos’ campaign coffers. In November 2022, $20,000 was transferred from Santos’ campaign to his organization Devolder, and the coins were used to make $6,000 worth of purchases at Ferragamo. , withdraw $800 in coins from a casino ATM and pay Santos’ rent, according to bank statements provided to the Office of Congressional Ethics and reviewed by the committee. Santos’ crusader also reported making a $1,500 botox purchase with the crusader’s credit card in 2020 and a $3,332 Airbnb stay in July 2022 that coincided with a calendar access showing Santos was located in the Hamptons at the time, according to the report.
Santos has been under scrutiny for months (and requested deportation) for questionable financial practices and for allegedly lying about nearly every aspect of his personal history. The committee did not propose that the House punish Santos outside of a public condemnation, however, the report created momentum in favor of his expulsion from Congress, as several members who in the past opposed his expulsion said they would now vote in favor of his impeachment. The committee also said it uncovered evidence that Santos had damaged more legislation. in addition to the 23 federal crimes for which he has already been charged (and to which he has pleaded not guilty), and submitted his findings to the Department of Justice. Santos, who has continually insisted on his innocence, said Thursday that he did not run in the election to avoid his family being the subject of media investigations.
Former Santos staffers interviewed through the committee said Santos and his former crusade treasurer, Nancy Marks, controlled the strings of his crusade top-secretly, with one employee describing the crusade’s finances as a “black box” that only he and Marks could touch. . Report statuses. Santos has continually tried to blame others for his conduct (attacking Marks when the allegations against him were made public, accusing him of being a “bully” and incompetent), but the committee alleges that he is “very concerned about the monetary operations of his crusade. “Marks pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the federal government in October and admitted that she and Santos falsely inflated their fundraising figures in order to obtain more logistical benefits from the party’s national committee.