Watchdog Group Alleges US Rep. George Santos Committed Campaign Finance Violations

George Santos was elected in November 2022; however, the first openly-gay Republican congressman was immediately hit with multiple scandals, including that he lied about his education, job experience and Jewish heritage.

The Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed an ethics complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on Monday against newly elected Rep. George Santos (R - NY) for alleged campaign finance violations.

The complaint alleges Santos took part in a “straw donor campaign” to hide the source of campaign contributions, falsified his disclosure reports to avoid scrutiny, and used campaign funds for personal reasons including rent, among other violations.

The CLC is a nonpartisan, nonprofit watchdog group that advocates for strict enforcement of campaign regulations and open elections. It was founded by Trevor Potter, a Republican and former commissioner of the FEC. The CLC complaint almost mentions Santo's previous campaign falsehoods as additional motivation for the FEC to look into the young congressman.

"Particularly in light of Santos’s mountain of lies about his life and qualifications for office, the Commission should thoroughly investigate what appear to be equally brazen lies about how his campaign raised and spent money."

The complaint mentions a previously reported $705,000 loan Santos gave to his campaign, despite only listing $55,000 in earned income in his May 2020 disclosure.

Additionally, the CLC complaint zeroes in on 40 disbursements by the Santos campaign for $199 and $200, including 37 which were exactly $199.99. As the complaint notes, campaigns are required to keep proof of purchase such as a receipt, invoice, or canceled check, for purchases of $200 or more.

The Santos campaign disclosed it spent exactly $199.99 on seven occasions at a restaurant in Little Neck, NY, five times with Uber, four times with Delta airlines, and three times at Best Buy.

Some of the $199.99 purchases don’t just seem implausible, but impossible. The Santos campaign claimed a disbursement of $199.99 at a South Beach hotel in October 2021 for a “hotel stay,” even though according to the complaint the cheapest room available at the hotel in October costs more than $700.

Other seemingly impossible $199.99 claims by the Santos campaign include a purchase from CLEAR for “travel,” even though the service cost $189 at its non-discounted rate, and $199.99 for parking at JFK International Airport, though no combination of parking fees at that airport can result in the fee ending in $.99.

According to the complaint, the 37 disbursements of $199.99 by the Santos campaign “approximately” equaled the amount of $199.99 by all other political committees combined for that period.

The Santos campaign also stated in its filings that it paid a total of $13,300 for “Rent” “Apartment Rental for Staff” or “Rent and Rent Deposit.” Despite the claim that the residence was an apartment for staff, the listed address was a house in Long Island, NY, where the New York Times reported the then-candidate Santos was residing.

Under FEC regulations, candidates are prohibited from using campaign funds for expenses they would typically have if they were not campaigning, including rent or mortgages.

An email by Sputnik to Santos' campaign treasurer Nancy Marks, who was also named in the complaint, did not immediately receive a response. No email address for the Santos campaign is listed on its website and a spokesperson for the Santos congressional office declined to answer questions or provide alternative contact information, citing ethics rules about office staff collaborating with campaigns.

The complaint is the latest in a series of headaches for the freshman representative. It was previously revealed that Santos lied about his resume during the campaign, including about his education and job history. Santos later admitted to “embellishing” his resume. It then surfaced that in 2008, he had been charged with fraud in Brazil. Allegedly, Santos wrote checks with a stolen checkbook.

Court records show that Santos confessed to the crime, but was never convicted because prosecutors in the country could not locate him. Last week, a spokesperson from the Rio de Janeiro prosecutor's office said it was seeking to renew the charges. Santos denied any legal wrongdoing in an interview with the New York Post in December 2022.