Tag: George Santos

The ex-treasurer for U.S. Rep. George Santos pleaded guilty Thursday to a fraud conspiracy charge and implicated the indicted New York Republican in a scheme to embellish his campaign finance reports with a fake loan and fake donors.

Nancy Marks, who was a close aide to Santos during his two congressional bids, entered the plea at a federal courthouse on Long Island, where she was a longtime political operative and bookkeeper for multiple candidates.

Speaking to the judge, Marks briefly outlined a scam she said was intended to hoodwink Republican Party officials into throwing their support behind Santos, who at the time had lost an earlier race for Congress and was struggling to get financial support for a second run.

To impress party leaders, she said, Santos submitted bogus campaign finance reports falsely saying he had loaned his campaign $500,000 even though in reality he didn’t have that kind of money and the loan didn’t exist. The fake loan made Santos look way richer than he really was, and also helped him hit fundraising thresholds needed to qualify for backing from a national GOP committee.

Reading from a prepared statement, Marks also said she had provided the Federal Elections Commission with a fake list of people who had supposedly given large donations to the campaign. Prosecutors said the list included the names of multiple members of Santos’ and Marks’ families.

“The donors, who are real people, didn’t give me permission to use their names,” Marks said in court,

Her plea agreement comes with a recommendation that she serve 3 1/2 years to 4 years in prison.

Outside the courthouse, Marks’ lawyer said that while his client had not formally entered into a cooperation agreement with prosecutors, she would be willing to testify against Santos if asked.

“If we get a subpoena we’ll do the right thing,” said the attorney, Ray Perini. He said Santos had “mentally seduced” his client.

“There’s a manipulation involved that had to do with her family and the death of her husband,” Perini said, declining to elaborate. “There were lies told.”

Any such testimony could be a severe blow to the congressman, who faces a separate 13-count federal indictment alleging he duped donors, embezzled money from his campaign, lied in financial disclosures submitted to Congress about being a millionaire and received unemployment funds when he wasn’t eligible. He has defied calls to resign.

An attorney for Santos, Joseph Murray, attended the court hearing and said afterward that he expected Marks was cooperating with the government. A congressional spokesperson for Santos declined to comment.

Prosecutors didn’t charge Santos in the criminal complaint against Marks, but they described him as a “co-conspirator.”

Marks resigned as Santos’ treasurer amid growing questions about his campaign finances and revelations he had fabricated much of his life story.

After his election, news reporters revealed that Santos had made up stories about where he went to college and where he worked, telling people he was a Wall Street dealmaker with a real estate portfolio when he was actually struggling financially had faced eviction from multiple apartments. Santos also lied about his heritage, saying he was Jewish when he wasn’t.

Santos, a first-term congressman, has acknowledged embellishing his resume, but has accused people of overreacting.

Previously, he sought to pin the blame for his unexplained finances on Marks, who he claims “went rogue” without his knowledge.

Marks had not previously been charged. Thursday marked her first appearance in court.

A key behind-the-scenes figure in Long Island Republican politics, Marks built a business as a treasurer and consultant to dozens of local, state and federal candidates. Her most high-profile client besides Santos was former U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin of New York, an ally of Donald Trump. She was Zeldin’s bookkeeper when he unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2022.

Marks had faced scrutiny over Santos’ unusual campaign filings, including a series of $199.99 expenses, just below the legal limit for disclosure.

While Santos has admitted fabricating key parts about his purported background as a wealthy, well-educated businessman, questions remain about what he did for work. Reporters had questioned the source of more than $700,000 he initially claimed to have loaned his campaign.

Besides being responsible for keeping Santos’ campaign books and handling his regulatory filings, Marks had unusual business ties to Santos, according to public records.

In 2021, she was listed as being a member of a political consulting firm incorporated in Florida, whose other members included Santos’ company and people who had formerly been affiliated with an investment company that had been shut down by the Securities and Exchange Commission over allegations that it was a Ponzi scheme.

When Santos was indicted, Marks wasn’t mentioned by name in court filings. But the indictment described an unnamed political consultant who it said had helped dupe donors who gave money that they thought was going to the campaign but was instead siphoned off for Santos’ personal use.

Marks is the second person besides Santos to face charges in connection with the campaign. In August, a former Santos fundraiser, Sam Miele, was indicted on federal charges that he impersonated the then-chief of staff to GOP Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, who at the time was the House minority leader.

Miele pleaded not guilty. His attorney, Kevin Marino, had predicted that his client would be exonerated at trial.

Federal prosecutors are seeking a delay in the criminal case against U.S. Rep. George Santos. The request is prompting debate as to whether a plea deal is being considered for Santos, a Republican who represents parts of the North Shore on Long Island and Queens.

Prosecutors filed a motion Tuesday, requesting to move the status conference from this Thursday to Oct. 27. The motion was filed ahead of a status conference slated for federal court in Central Islip,

“The defendant joins in this request,” prosecutors wrote in a letter to Judge Joanna Seybert.

In June, prosecutors said they had turned over more than 80,000 pages of materials to Santos’ lawyers in the federal fraud and money laundering case against him.

The delay would give Santos additional time to continue reviewing “the voluminous discoverable material previously produced by the government,” prosecutors wrote.

In addition, prosecutors wrote in the motion, the “government anticipates making another substantial production of discoverable material.”

Now, prosecutors said, “the parties have continued to discuss possible paths forward in this matter. The parties wish to have additional time to continue those discussions.”

The letter from prosecutors filed earlier this week has sparked debate as to whether Santos is seeking a plea deal.

Yet on Tuesday, Santos took to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, seemingly in response to any plea-deal debates.  In his post, he wrote “Word of the day: Speculation.” In the post he went on to say, Meaning: The forming of a theory or conjecture without firm evidence.”

Meanwhile, in New York’s 3^rd congressional district, which Santos represents, a group of constituents continue to call for his resignation.  Concerned Citizens of NY-03, which describes itself as nonpartisan, said in a news release that it “wants to make sure that, as in any criminal case, the victim’s wishes are considered in structuring the plea deal.” However, the group went on to say,  the “wishes of the victims here — Santos’s constituents — are that this conman be compelled to immediately step down from his role as a Member of the House of Representatives, which would allow for a special election for his replacement as soon as possible.”

Santos pleaded not guilty earlier this year to charges that he duped donors, stole from his campaign, collected fraudulent unemployment benefits and lied to Congress about being a millionaire.

Prosecutors have charged Santos with 13 counts of wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and making false statements to Congress. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Taken together, the allegations suggest Santos relied on “repeated dishonesty and deception to ascend to the halls of Congress and enrich himself,” according to Breon Peace, the U.S. attorney for Long Island.

Santos has condemned the federal investigation as a “witch hunt,” vowing not only to remain in Congress but to seek reelection. Republican leaders have urged Santos not to run again but have deferred efforts to expel the freshman representative that could narrow their slim majority.

Federal prosecutors say Santos misused funds that he raised for his campaign on personal expenses, including designer clothes and credit cards.

He is also accused of lying about his finances on congressional disclosure forms and obtaining unemployment benefits while making $120,000 as regional director of an investment firm, which was later shut down over Security and Exchange Commission allegations that it was a Ponzi scheme. Santos wasn’t named in the SEC complaint and has said he was shocked by the allegations.

Earlier this week, Santos told Talking Points Memo that any ideas over whether he and his counsel were considering a plea deal are “wildly inaccurate.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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The people who guaranteed the $500,000 bond of Rep. George Santos, the Republican who represents New York’s 3rd congressional district, LIBN has learned.

It was Santos’ father, Gercino Dos Santos, and his aunt, Elma Santos Preven, who guaranteed the bond, LIBN learned Thursday from a source familiar with the matter. They are the only two suretors provided by the defendant. Santos’ father and aunt were not required to pay any of the money upfront, under the bond agreement, but they would be held financially liable if Santos did not return to court.

Earlier this month, the congressman said he was protecting family member by keeping the cosigners secret as he fought criminal charges. But on Thursday, those names were made public in federal court.

In a newly unsealed filing, Judge Joanna Seybert wrote Santos “did nothing to diffuse the ‘media frenzy,’” adding that his attempts to shield the names of his family members had “simply created hysteria over what is, in actuality, a nonissue.”

“It’s now public record that George Santos is fully bought and paid for by these individuals, and thus is compromised as a member of Congress,” Josh Lafazan, the Nassau County legislator who had vied for the seat in the Democratic primaries, said in a statement. “Family or not, a sitting member of Congress accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars raises serious ethical flags.”

In this closely watched district, Zak Malamed, a Democratic candidate eyeing the seat in the next election, weighed in.

“The latest news in George Santos’ legal case is yet another reminder that he is an embarrassment to Long Island and Queens residents,” Malamed said in a statement. “There are still many unanswered questions about his ethical, moral, and legal decisions and he remains a dishonest and disgraceful con artist who should have no place representing NY-03 in Washington.”

Santos’s attorney Joseph Murray had said in a letter to Seybert, who is based in Central Islip,  that Santos would agree to the disclosure that there is a “family” relationship between the Republican congressman and those who signed his bond.

By Thursday-afternoon Santos said in a Tweet that “My family & I have made peace with the judges decision to release their names. Now I pray that the judge is correct and no harm comes to them. I look forward to continuing this process & I ask for the media to not disturb or harass my dad & aunt for the sakes of cheap reporting.”

News media outlets had challenged the sealing of records regarding the cosigners after Santos pleaded not guilty on May 10 to a 13-count indictment charging that he duped donors, stole from his campaign, lied to Congress about being a millionaire and cheated to collect unemployment benefits he didn’t deserve.

Both his aunt and father are New York residents who donated to Santos’ political campaign. In campaign finance records, his father lists his occupation as a painter. Preven said she worked as a mail carrier. Attempts to reach them on Thursday were unsuccessful.

Efforts by Santos to withhold their names from the public had fueled speculation and doubt, with some House Democrats suggesting that a financial supporter could be seeking to exert political influence on the congressman.

Earlier this week, Reps. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., and Greg Landsman, D-Ohio, introduced a resolution calling on the House Ethics Committee to disclose the names so they could determine whether Santos was in violation of congressional gifting rules.

Santos has defied calls to resign, while refusing to answer questions about the source of his wealth, including a $700,000 payment he made to his campaign. According to federal prosecutors, Santos vastly overstated his income and assets, falsely certifying that he earned a $750,000 salary from a consulting company known as the Devolder Organization LLC.

Santos could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. He is due back in court on June 30.

Associated Press contributed to this story. 

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A federal magistrate ruled Tuesday to make public the names of the cosigners on indicted Rep. George Santos ’ $500,000 release bond, but said she’ll keep them secret for now to give his lawyer time to appeal the decision.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Anne Shields’ ruling came a day after Santos’ lawyer said the New York Republican would risk going to jail to protect the identities of his cosigners whose backing enabled his pretrial release.

The decision was a victory for news outlets including The Associated Press and The New York Times that petitioned Shields last week to unseal the names, citing a need for “the greatest transparency possible.”

Santos’ lawyer, Joseph Murray, urged Shields to keep the names secret. He suggested that the congressman’s cosigners could “suffer great distress,” including possible job losses and physical harm, if they’re identified publicly.

Murray said he, Santos and Santos’ staff have been receiving threatening and harassing calls and messages, including death threats. He said he worries Santos’ critics “are just waiting to pounce” on the people backing his release.

“My client would rather surrender to pretrial detainment than subject these suretors to what will inevitably come,” Murray wrote.

Shields gave Murray until 12 p.m. Friday to appeal. A message seeking comment was left with Murray.

Santos, 34, represents parts of Queens and Long Island. He pleaded not guilty May 10 to charges he duped donors, stole from his campaign, lied to Congress about being a millionaire and cheated to collect unemployment benefits he didn’t deserve.

At Murray’s request, Shields agreed at Santos’ arraignment to keep the cosigners’ names out of the public court record. In her ruling Tuesday, Shields reversed that decision.

Santos has defied calls to resign and has said he won’t drop his bid for a second term. He is due back in court on June 30.

Santos’ bond is unsecured. That means his cosigners didn’t have to put up any money up front, but could be forced to pay the full amount if he doesn’t comply with his release conditions or fails to show up for court.

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