George Santos Attempts To Strike Deal With Brazilian Prosecutors In Check Fraud Case

Topline

Embattled Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) is negotiating a deal with Brazilian prosecutors that will allow him to avoid trial in a check fraud case, CNN reported—marking an end to one of the many investigations into Santos’ conduct, including a House Ethics probe that could lead to his ouster from Congress.

Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, March 08, 2023. (Photo by Jabin … [+] Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

The Washington Post via Getty Images

Key Facts

Santos’ attorneys asked prosecutors last week to end the case—in which Santos is accused of using stolen checks to purchase $1,300 worth of clothes and shoes in 2008—if Santos admits guilt and repays the victim, according to CNN.

It’s unclear if Santos will be able to meet the conditions since the alleged victim, Delio da Camara da Costa Alemao, an elderly Rio de Janeiro-area man his mother cared for at the time, has died, according to multiple reports.

Santos admitted to Brazilian authorities in 2010 he stole the checks while he was living in Brazil, where his mother is also from, CNN reported previously, citing Brazilian court records.

Police suspended the investigation because Santos left the country, but reopened it in January, shortly after he came under fire for a string of lies he told during his campaign for Congress.

Forbes has reached out to an attorney for Santos, but has not received a response.

Key Background

Santos, a freshman congressman who won a Long Island district in the midterm election, became embroiled in scandal in December, when The New York Times uncovered evidence that contradicted nearly every aspect of his personal and professional background, including that his mother died in 9/11, that his maternal grandparents were Jewish and fled the Holocaust, and that he “lost” employees in the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando. Santos later admitted he lied about having graduated from Baruch College and New York University and fabricated previous claims that he worked on Wall Street at Citibank and Goldman Sachs. Government watchdog groups subsequently raised concerns about irregularities in his campaign finance statements, including misrepresenting donations in an apparent attempt to skirt reporting requirements, along with his sudden source of wealth.

What We Don’t Know

The outcome of multiple other law enforcement investigations into Santos’ conduct, including federal and New York state probes into his campaign finances and financial disclosure forms. The FBI is also investigating whether Santos stole from a GoFundMe account he allegedly helped a disabled veteran set up to pay for his dying dog’s life-saving surgery. The veteran, Richard Osthoff, has claimed in previous media reports that Santos helped him raise $3,000, then closed the account and ran off with the money.

Tangent

Santos was charged in a separate check fraud case in York County, Pa., in 2017 after he wrote a series of bad checks worth $15,125 to buy puppies from dog breeders, Politico reported. Days later, he held an adoption event for the puppies through a charity he claims he founded, Friends of Pets United (the Times reported in December there are no official records of the charity, and Santos later admitted in interviews that he did not start the organization, but helped fundraise for it). The charges were eventually dropped and Santos’ record has been expunged, according to Politico.

What To Watch For

The House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into Santos earlier this month that focuses on the potential campaign finance violations and allegations that he sexually harassed a would-be staffer. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has said Congress will take measures to remove Santos from Congress if the committee finds any wrongdoing, which would require a vote of two-thirds of members.