New York Rep. George Santos is facing a laundry list of allegations that he's lied about virtually everything in his personal and professional backstory - some of which he's acknowledged, some of which he's remained silent on.
Following is a list of what Santos, a Long Island Republican representing New York's third congressional district, allegedly lied about, and what he has admitted or denied:
- Lying about where he went to school - Santos has admitted that he did not attend the universities he had previously claimed on his resume. The New York Times subsequently reported that some Santos staffers uncovered that and other lies in 2021, and left his staff when he refused to end his campaign.
- Lying about where he worked - Santos has admitted lying about this as well.
- Lying about owning a number of rental properties - Santos claimed to own a series of rental properties but later acknowledged he didn't.
- Lying about being robbed of his rent money - Santos said he was once mugged while on his way to pay his rent in Queens. The NYPD has no record of such a robbery.
- Lying about being Jewish - Santos repeatedly said during his campaign he was a proud American Jew - but later backtracked and identified as "Jew-ish" after reporting raised questions about his ethnicity.
- Lying about his criminal status in Brazil - Santos has stridently denied committing crimes in Brazil or anywhere else, but Brazilian prosecutors have moved to reopen a years-old fraud case against him.
- Lying to donors - CNBC reported that Santos' staff impersonated staffers for now-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in order to raise funds from wealthy donors. Santos' lawyer would not answer CNBC's question about whether Santos knew of the deception.
- Lying about his athletic accomplishments - Long Island GOP officials said Santos told them he was a star volleyball player at Baruch College. He also told a radio show in 2020 that he had a full scholarship to Baruch to play volleyball, and that he had both knees replaced as a result of his athletic career. He has since acknowledged he never attended Baruch, and there is no evidence his knees have been replaced.
- Lying about the timing of his mother's death and connection to 9/11 - Santos has publicly said that the 9/11 attacks claimed his mother's life, though she died in 2016 and there is no evidence of a connection. He also claimed his mother was at her office inside the World Trade Center during the attacks, but records obtained by NBC News show she was living in Brazil at the time.
- Lying about his campaign finances - Santos has denied any improprieties in his fundraising, but law enforcement sources tell News 4 that federal prosecutors are looking into his campaign finances amid claims of fraud and improper donations. An initial filing from September included a checked box saying a hefty $500,000 loan came from the "personal funds of the candidate," but that box was not checked in a newer amended filing and doesn't provide any new information about the source of the funds — only saying the loan came from the candidate, but wasn't Santos' personal money.
- Lying about who is campaign treasurer was - Thomas Datwyler was listed as the replacement for Santos' longtime treasurer, Nancy Marks. But an attorney for Datwyler quickly disputed that campaign filing, saying Datwyler "would not be taking over as treasurer" and was working with the FEC to resolve the confusion, calling it "either a miscommunication or something else."
- Lying about his name - Santos says his full name is George Anthony Devolder Santos, and he campaigned and serves as George Santos. But the New York Times and Washington Post reported that as recently as 2019, he appeared at events billed as Anthony Devolder, and was identified to external clients by his employer as George Devolder.
- Lying to investors - Santos worked at a firm, Harbor City, that was later shut down by the SEC as a Ponzi scheme. But he is accused of purportedly telling investors the firm was "100% legitimate," even after allegedly being warned the bank was accused of circulating false documents.
- Lying about raising money for homeless veteran's dog - Veteran Richard Osthoff and another veteran told Patch.com that Santos, going by Anthony Devolder at that time, set up a GoFundMe through his purported pet charity, Friends of Pets United. The $3,000 raised was supposed to go to Osthoff's dog, who had developed a stomach tumor, but Osthoff said he never got the money and that Santos took off with it after he was unable to reach him. The FBI is looking into the matter. Santos has denied allegations that he took the thousands of dollars he helped raise.
- Lying about being mugged in Manhattan: Santos previously said he was the target of an assassination attempt in Manhattan, and that he was mugged on Fifth Avenue during the middle of the day. While it wasn't proven it didn't happen, the NYPD said it has no record of any mugging or attempt on the now-congressman's life.
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