A Republican member of the House of Representatives who snatched a seat from the New York State Democrats in November’s election has been accused of extensive lying on his resume, prompting his opponent to call for his resignation, according to a New York Times investigation before his inauguration.
George Santos, who was elected in that American state’s 3rd Circuit, responded via a statement from his attorney Joseph Murray, saying he was “not surprised that enemies at the New York Times are trying to smear him with defamatory allegations.”
In an investigation, the NYT reveals that George Santos, the son of Brazilian immigrants born in Queens, New York, and an openly gay candidate, may have lied about several aspects of his biography, such as his degree in finance from Baruch College in New York in 2010 and stints at Citigroup Bank or Goldman Sachs Investment Bank. Spokespersons for the three organizations assured the New York Times that they had found no trace of the newly elected official, who is scheduled to take office in early January.
Baruch College confirmed to AFP that around 2010 it did not find any George Santos alumni on its files.
The New York daily also questions the functioning of the Friends of United Animals association proposed by the former candidate, and also believes that his financial advisory firm, the Devolder Organization, ” is something of a mystery.”
In his financial report to the House of Representatives filed in September, George Santos asserted that the company paid him a salary of $750,000 and dividends of between $1 million and $5 million. But, according to the NYT, the form did not include “information about clients who may have contributed to such looting, an apparent violation of the requirement to disclose single-source compensation in excess of $5,000.”
“The truth is that Santos totally lied to the voters (…) and doesn’t deserve to represent Long Island and Queens,” said his Democratic opponent Robert Zimmerman, who lost in the midterm elections on November 8th.
He called for his resignation and an “immediate investigation by the House Ethics Committee, the Federal Elections Commission and the prosecutor’s office.”
New York State, which is considered pro-Democrats, saw several elected seats in the House of Representatives switch to the Republican side, contributing to their narrow majority in the lower house in Washington. The Democrats retained the majority in the Senate.