Even by the embarrassing standards of politics, Queens and Long Island Congress Member George Santos — who was indicted on federal fraud charges on Wednesday — has spun a breathtaking web of deception leaving his constituents and the nation grasping for answers and wondering what, if anything, might actually be true.
The 34-year-old freshman Republican surrendered to federal authorities on Long Island Wednesday morning and pled not guilty on charges he laundered campaign contributions into his personal bank account and spent them on personal items, defrauded New York’s unemployment insurance system, and lied about his income on House of Representatives financial disclosures.
For those raps, he could face decades in prison; he’s out on $500,000 bond.
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg for Santos, who has become a political pariah in New York and on Capitol Hill after nearly his entire biography failed to stand up to basic scrutiny.
Santos has lied so much about himself and his life that it can be a bit hard to keep track of it all. He’s admitted to “embellishing” his biography in some respects but has firmly denied other accusations.
Below, we’ve compiled what we hope is a comprehensive list of all the lies Santos has told and all the ways he’s been accused of cheating and defrauding the people around him over the years, but the breadth of his alleged dishonesty means there easily could be things we’ve missed.
Fake résumé
Santos’ façade began to crumble before he was even sworn into office, when the New York Times published a bombshell investigation finding the bulk of his backstory presented on the campaign trail was apparently bogus. Santos presented himself to voters as a wealthy Wall Street investor with a sizable real estate portfolio and a philanthropist devoted to animal welfare.
But his claims of working for Citigroup and Goldman Sachs were denied by both those companies, as was his education at Baruch College. His purported…
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