Congressman George Santos, who has been accused of lying about much of his resume, is now believed to be the mastermind behind an ATM scam involving a former roommate who has since written to the FBI about the scam.
The embattled Republican has been outed several times as an apparently pathological liar and is now the subject of House ethics investigations. Despite this, Santos still refuses to resign from his post.
The latest scandal relates to an identity theft that took place in Washington state in 2017.
Gustavo Ribeiro Trelha, who was convicted of credit card fraud in the case, wrote a letter to the FBI on Wednesday naming Santos – aka Anthony Devolder – as the mastermind behind the crime. It saw devices attached to ATMs that copied customers’ card details and allowed Trelha – and allegedly Santos – to drain those accounts.
Santos spoke to a King County judge in 2017 in support of Trelha, whom he described as a “family friend.” That’s when the New York Republican told the judge his infamous lie about working for Goldman Sachs, according to Politico. He also said he was “an aspiring politician.”
Gustavo Ribeiro Trelha (pictured, right), who was convicted of credit card fraud in the case, wrote a letter filed with the FBI on Wednesday, naming Santos (pictured, left) – aka Anthony Devolder – as the person responsible for the crime
The congressman previously said he was an “informant” in the case and was questioned by the Secret Service, according to Politico.
“Santos taught me how to scan card information and how to clone cards. He gave me all the materials and taught me how to attach skimming devices and cameras to ATMs,” Trelha wrote.
The letter, which was served by Trelha’s Long Island attorney Mark Demetropoulous, was written (and translated from the original Portuguese) after the Brazilian saw Santos on TV in Congress.
He says he met Santos in 2016 after renting a room in his Florida apartment after chatting on a Facebook group for Brazilians living in Orlando.
Trelha said Santos soon implicated him in the scam, which involved an Orlando warehouse containing “parts, printers, empty ATMs and credit cards to be painted and engraved with stolen account and personal information.”
He claims the congressman gave him some of these parts and then showed him how to pull the handle off.
Trelha flew thousands of miles across the country to Seattle in 2017 with a plan to split the stolen funds 50/50.
“We used a computer to download the information about the pieces. We also used an external hard drive to store the footage as the skimmer took the information from the card and the camera took the password,” he wrote.
The letter, served by Trelha’s Long Island attorney Mark Demetropoulous, was written (and translated from the original Portuguese) after Trelha saw Santos on television in Congress
Trelha says in the statement he met now-Rep. Santos in 2016 after renting a room in his Florida apartment after chatting on a Facebook group for Brazilians living in Orlando
However, he was caught on security footage removing a skimming device from a Chase ATM.
He was arrested on April 27, 2017. He served seven months in prison after pleading guilty to device fraud before being deported in 2018.
Trelha then goes on to write that Santos visited him in jail and told him not to mention his name to anyone, even threaten his friends back in Florida, or “make things worse for him” if he did.
However, he promised to get him $20,000 to get him out and even said he would hire El Chapo’s attorney for him, neither of which happened.
“Santos didn’t help me get out of prison. He also stole the money I collected for my bail,” Trelha added.
He ended the statement by saying he was ready to speak to any US government investigators.
Santos, as he has done with many of the stories that exposed his past, denied the Politico report in a tweet Thursday night.
“If everyone asks, I’ll give a simple answer,” he wrote. “The latest madness published by politico is categorically wrong. Any news organization willing to do good journalism, I’d love to sit down with you and go through it all. Stay healthy and stay healthy everyone.’
Santos, as he has done with many of the stories that exposed his past, denied the Politico report in a tweet Thursday night
The House Ethics Committee announced a week ago that Santos would be officially subjected to an ethics investigation.
It formed a panel to review several charges against him, including allegations about his 2022 congressional campaign and a complaint from a former employee that Santos attempted to engage in appropriate sexual misconduct.
Santos admitted to lying about his education and work history but says he’s learned his lesson and vowed that going forward “everything will always go flawlessly”. He has also announced that he will seek re-election in 2024.
The ethics probe comes as even some Republicans have called for Santos to resign.
The investigation will focus on whether Santos was involved in any unlawful activity in relation to his 2022 congressional campaign; it failed to properly disclose required information on statements filed with the House of Representatives; Violated federal conflict of interest laws in connection with his role in a firm that provides trustee services; and/or engaged in sexual misconduct with a person seeking employment in its congressional office,” the House Ethics Committee said in a statement.
The Republican congressman from New York has resigned from his committee duties as his conduct during the midterm elections was questioned, including lying about his work history, education and legacy in his campaign biography.
In addition, a monitoring group alleged that he had committed multiple campaign finance violations and filed a complaint with the FEC, specifically citing questions about whether he lent his campaign more than $700,000 when he only contributed $55,000. dollars in earned income.
Santos, 34, is also accused of concealing the true source of his campaign’s funding, misrepresenting his campaign’s expenses and using campaign resources to cover personal expenses.
Santos is also under investigation by the District Attorney’s Office in Nassau County, NY, and by authorities in Brazil
Official business cards of US Representative George Santos (R-NY) lie on his desk on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC
Derek Myers, a former Santos aide, has accused the congressman of sexual misconduct
Rep. George Santos (R-NY) chats with his State of the Union guest and his staff as they prepare for the evening at Santos’ office on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC
And a former employee, Derek Myers, revealed that he has filed a complaint with the US Capitol Police and the Office of Congressional Ethics alleging Santos touched his groin, asking him if he was on the Grindr dating app invited him home and paying house ethics is breaking rules.
Myers said Santos hired him as an assistant on Jan. 25. He said the two were going through letters from voters when Santos asked Myers if he was on the dating app and explained that he had a profile.
Myers claims Santos asked him to sit closer after they spoke on Grindr and allegedly started touching his leg before inviting him to karaoke.
The aide said he declined the invitation, but Santos then moved his hand to his “groin” and assured him his husband was out of town and invited him.
Santos is already under investigation by the District Attorney’s Office in Nassau County, NY, where his congressional district is being tried. And the authorities in Brazil are also trying to revive a fraud case against him from 2008.
A group of Democrats, along with some Republicans, have tried to get Santos expelled from Congress.
Those who voted for Santos in New York’s 3rd congressional district have begun calling for the lawmaker’s resignation. Santos received praise in the GOP after winning the 2022 midterm election, when he switched the district from blue to red and became the first openly gay Republican member elected to the House of Representatives.
However, shortly after his election, reports surfaced revealing that Santos had lied about much of his resume, including his career achievements, educational background and even his alleged Jewish heritage.
He got into bigger trouble for lying about where the money that boosted his 2022 campaign came from, while law enforcement investigate his campaign funding, his oversight of a pet charity and his work for a company that later became part of a Ponzi scheme investigation got entangled.
Democrats last week officially tried to bar Santos from the House of Representatives in February, something that has only happened to five other lawmakers in lower house history.
Santos has denied any wrongdoing.