A Gang Execution, Pleading the 5th, Justice for a Dead Dog: Against All Odds, the George Santos Story Has Gotten Even More Bizarre

Less than two months after first learning that newly elected congressman George Santos lied about, conservatively, 97% of his biography, it’s basically become a full-time job to keep up with the twists, turns, investigations, and insane revelations concerning the GOP lawmaker. Last week alone, for instance, it emerged that he’d baselessly:

• Claimed to have been the target of an assassination attempt
• Claimed to have been mugged in broad daylight on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 55th Street
• Told a roommate he was a male model who’d be appearing in Vogue
• Told the same roommate that as a result of his work during Fashion Week, he’d palled around with Victoria’s Secret models
• Told would-be investors in the firm he worked at—which was accused by the SEC of operating a Ponzi scheme—that he did deals with some of the richest and most powerful people in finance

Again, all of this came to light just last week! And that’s on top of the unearthed lies that came before, including the ones about having grandparents who fled the Holocaust and having been a star player on the Baruch College volleyball team!

So you’d think, given all we know, that there’d be very little left to come out about the guy, or few new avenues to probe. And yet, apparently, you’d think wrong.

Here’s what’s emerged in just the last few days.

The alleged scamming of a disabled veteran and his dying service dog is getting the FBI treatment

On Wednesday, Politico reported that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had launched a probe of an alleged GoFundMe scheme by Santos. That scheme, according to disabled veteran Richard Osthoff, involved Santos setting up a GoFundMe to solicit money to pay for surgery for Osthoff’s service dog, Sapphire, raising $3,000, and then absconding with the cash. Sapphire died in 2017, and Osthoff says he contemplated suicide over the experience with Santos. According to the veteran, he was contacted this week by two agents on behalf of the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. And it’s possible the case could result in criminal charges for Santos sooner rather than later.

Per Politico:

Joshua Schiller, a senior trial lawyer who has practiced in the Eastern District, said the veteran’s encounter with Santos could offer prosecutors a quick way to hit the Republican congressman with criminal charges even though they’re also investigating heftier possible financial crimes. “I think there is an urgency here because Santos is currently in a position to make laws,” Schiller said. “I can think of examples where the government used a lesser indictment to seize assets and try to cause the defendant to plea to a deal before bringing a second or third indictment on more serious charges, and I bet that is the case here.”