The Lies of George Santos: Full list of every fib and untruth from the disgraced GOP Rep
WASHINGTON, DC: GOP's New York Rep, George Santos, is currently embroiled in a sprawling controversy as he confronts an alarming 23 federal charges, following the release of a superseding indictment on October 10.
This latest indictment compounds the troubles of the congressman, who was initially indicted on May 10 with 13 federal charges that encompass wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds, and lying to Congress. The new charges cast a stark light on a man whose political career is marred by deception.
The unraveling of Santos' web of lies began in December 2022. This was when The New York Times first exposed inconsistencies in his life story. What ensued was a whirlwind of questions regarding the veracity of his claims, leaving many aspects of his personal and professional life shrouded in doubt.
George Santos' educational falsehoods
Santos falsely claimed to have attended the prestigious Horace Mann School in the Bronx during his high school years but had to leave in his senior year due to his parents' financial struggles. Investigations, however, found no evidence supporting his claims or any record of him ever enrolling in the school.
Later, he stated that he graduated with a degree in economics and finance from Baruch College in 2010, implying an unusually swift academic journey. Yet, a Baruch College representative contradicted this, asserting there was no record of Santos in the class of 2010.
Further investigations uncovered no substantiation for his claim of being a "star" on the Baruch volleyball team, as he had told Nassau County GOP chair Joseph Cairo. Eventually, Santos admitted that he "didn't graduate from any institution of higher learning."
George Santos' dubious employment history
Santos maintained that he had worked at prominent financial institutions, including Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, hoping to add an air of legitimacy to his professional background. However, both companies categorically denied having ever employed him, even briefly.
The congressman's elaborate fabrications extended to his time at Citigroup, where he claimed to have worked in the bank's real estate division during the 2010s. This, despite the fact that Citigroup had sold off its asset management operations while Santos was still in high school.
As if to add insult to injury, The New York Times uncovered an inflated resume of Santos, where he purportedly graduated in the top one percent of his class at Baruch, earned an MBA at NYU, and was even credited with doubling the revenue on a project at Goldman.
Santos clung to his false claims about Goldman Sachs. During a 2017 trial in Seattle, he declared, "I am an aspiring politician and I work for Goldman Sachs." When questioned if he worked for Goldman Sachs in New York, Santos affirmed, "Yup."
George Santos' fabricated real estate portfolio and charity projects
Santos' campaign bio claimed he and his family managed a real estate portfolio comprising 13 properties.
Yet, The New York Times found no evidence of these properties, and they were conspicuously absent from mandatory campaign financial disclosures.
Santos, who vocally criticized New York's eviction moratorium during the pandemic, ironically, found himself evicted twice.
Furthermore, Santos' campaign bio introduced "Friends of Pets United," a foundation that claimed to have saved thousands of dogs and cats between 2013 and 2018.
However, this charitable organization was shrouded in mystery, with no online presence, no IRS records, and no registration to be found in New York or New Jersey, where Santos claimed was its base of operations.
Investigative reports revealed that Friends of Pets United held only one fundraiser with a rescue group in New Jersey in 2017, but questions arose when the rescue group never received any funds.
Shockingly, Santos was discovered cashing checks written to the charity under his pseudonym, Anthony Devolder.
Santos faced allegations of swindling money from a disabled veteran who sought assistance in funding a life-saving surgery for his dog.
Despite raising funds through GoFundMe, Santos purportedly refused to release the money, ultimately resulting in the dog's tragic demise. The FBI reportedly launched an investigation into this matter.
George Santos' dubious claims about family's 9/11 and Holocaust connection
In July 2021, Santos made the astonishing assertion that his mother died in the September 11 attacks, stating, "The September 11 attacks claimed my mother's life." However, investigations failed to corroborate these claims.
Public employment records listed his mother's only known employer as an imports business in Queens that ceased operations in 1994.
Santos' mother had previously worked as a nurse in Brazil, further raising doubts about her purported role in the 9/11 tragedy.
Moreover, genealogists found documents showing that Santos' mother was in Brazil in September 2001, and she had applied for a US visa in 2003, stating she had not been in the country since 1999.
Santos asserted that his "grandparents survived the Holocaust" and that they "fled persecution during WWII."
However, genealogy records contradicted these claims, with experts finding no evidence of Jewish or Ukrainian heritage and no indication of name changes in his family.
Multiple family records showed that Santos's maternal grandparents were born in Brazil, with the name being common among Catholic families in the country.
Talking about his district, Santos said: “You sit in a room with a lot of Jews, you’re fucked!”
— Blake Zeff (@blakezeff) May 11, 2023
Then he assumed a fake Yiddish accent, to say: “Oh he’s such a mensch. He’s such a mensch.” Listen here👇 https://t.co/ybrMipN8sA
George Santos' unsubstantiated assassination and abduction claims
Santos claimed to have survived an assassination attempt in a Brazilian podcast. He also described a mugging incident in 2021, where an assailant allegedly stripped him of his shoes, briefcase, and watch on Fifth Avenue in broad daylight.
Despite the claims, no concrete evidence or police records were provided to support these allegations.
In a series of interviews with The New York Times in October 2023, Santos alleged that his five-year-old niece disappeared from a playground in Queens, only to be discovered on a surveillance camera 40 minutes later with two Chinese men.
Santos speculated that his criticism of the Chinese government could have made his family a target.
Nonetheless, investigations revealed that the New York Police Department found no basis for the story's veracity, with an NYPD official remarking, "I'd lean into, 'he made it up.'"
George Santos' questionable claims about Pulse nightclub shooting
In an interview with WNYC after his election, Santos claimed to have "lost four employees" in the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, which resulted in the tragic deaths of 49 people.
Yet, The New York Times discovered no evidence supporting his claim that any of the victims had been employees of the companies he mentioned in his biographies.
George Santos' bizarre Wikipedia entry about being on 'Hannah Montana'
Santos's Wikipedia bio, attributed to a user named "Anthony Devolder," suggested he had roles on Disney Channel shows like 'Hannah Montana' and 'Suite Life of Zack & Cody.' These claims raised eyebrows, given his alleged simultaneous volleyball stardom at Baruch College.
Furthermore, he claimed to have appeared in a movie called 'The Invasion' alongside Uma Thurman, despite there being no record of such a film ever being made.
George Santos once posed as a Brazilian journalist
Santos presented himself as a reporter for the Brazilian media giant Globo. He even went as far as stating he was an "executive" at the media company.
However, Globo's director-general of journalism dismissed these claims as "lies, pure and simple."
Santos has offered apologies and explanations for some of these discrepancies. However, the weight of evidence against him casts serious doubt on his credibility.
In an interview with Piers Morgan, Santos admitted, "I didn't think I would get caught" and alluded to running for Congress in 2020 with false claims.