George Santos Settles Stolen-Check Case in Brazil
Brazilian prosecutors declined to comment.
The hearing comes less than 24 hours after Mr. Santos was released from federal custody on a $500,000 bond. Prosecutors in New York have charged him with 13 felony counts, including wire fraud, lying and theft of public funds, which could carry a penalty of up to 20 years in prison if he is convicted.
Mr. Santos, was elected in November when he flipped the previously Democratic Third Congressional District, has come to be known less for who he is, than all the things he is not — a Wall Street financier, grandson of Holocaust survivors, and volleyball star.
Following reporting in The New York Times, Mr. Santos admitted that he had fabricated much of his background, from his education to his employment Goldman Sachs and Citigroup. Even so, those lies have continued to haunt him: several of the felony counts he is facing in the United States concern assertions he made on personal financial disclosure forms, where prosecutions say he misrepresented his earnings. He is also charged with defrauding political contributors and the New York Department of Labor.
Mr. Santos returned on Thursday to Washington, where he has vowed he will continue business as usual. He voted with Republicans to approve a sweeping border security measure that would revive Trump-era immigration practices. He also helped to pass a bill that would crack down on the same type of pandemic-era unemployment fraud that U.S. prosecutors have accused him of.
Mr. Santos did not address the seeming contradiction, or take questions from reporters. But he shared on Twitter a statement of support from fellow Representative Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida, and once again sought to use the indictment to solicit campaign donations.
Source: The New York Times
