Replies

justice.gov

Congressman George Santos Charged With
<><> Conspiracy,
<><>Wire Fraud,
<><>Making False Statements,
<><>Falsification of Records,
<><>Aggravated Identity Theft,
<><>Credit Card Fraud

forbes.com

Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) was indicted on 10 new federal charges Tuesday after previously pleading not guilty to 13 charges in May, which collectively could send the freshman lawmaker to prison for decades, as prosecutors allege he orchestrated a wide-ranging fraudulent fundraising scheme.
George Santos

KEY FACTS
Conspiracy to Commit Offenses Against the U.S.: Santos was charged with one count of violating 18 U.S. Code § 371 for a scheme in which he allegedly made up false campaign contributions in order to obtain support from a national political committee, and stole donors’ personal information and credit card information, which he used to make unauthorized campaign contributions in other peoples’ names.

The statute prohibits at least two people from “conspir[ing] either to commit any offense against the United States, or to defraud the United States, or any agency thereof in any manner or for any purpose,” and doing anything to take action on that conspiracy, and is punishable by a fine and/or up to five years in prison.

Wire Fraud: Santos was charged with nine counts of wire fraud, which is punishable by a fine and/or up to 20 years in prison, for wiring money as part of the fraudulent scheme, as well as for other schemes in which Santos solicited donations to a fake campaign company and then used those funds on personal expenses, and falsely claimed unemployment benefits despite having a job, according to the DOJ.

False Statements: Santos faces four counts for allegedly making false statements on campaign finance reports in 2021 and April 2022 and House disclosure reports in 2020 and 2022, which are punishable by a fine and/or up to five years in prison.

Falsification of a Record or Document: Santos has been charged with two counts of falsifying documents for making allegedly false entries in his 2021 year-end and April 2022 quarterly campaign finance reports, which is punishable by a fine and/or up to 20 years in prison.

Aggravated Identity Theft: Santos faces two counts of alleged aggravated identity theft, which occurs when someone “knowingly transfers, possesses, or uses, without lawful authority, a means of identification of another person” as part of a felony violation, for allegedly falsely listing donors who did not actually donate to his campaign on campaign reports, and for the alleged scheme in which he used donors’ credit card information to make fraudulent charges.

Aggravated identity theft is punishable by two years in prison, and the statute notes that the sentence typically cannot be served concurrently with any other prison sentence or shortened because of other sentences, and violations are not eligible for parole.

Access Device Fraud: Prosecutors claim Santos violated 18 U.S. Code § 1029 through his credit card fraud scheme, which prohibits people from knowingly using an access device issued to someone else—like a credit card or account number—with intent to defraud in order to receive payments of at least $1,000, and is punishable by a fine and/or up to 15 years in prison.

Unlawful Monetary Transactions Over $10,000: Santos was charged with three violations of 18 U.S. Code § 1957 for allegedly transferring campaign contributions to his personal bank account, which prohibits knowingly engaging in monetary transactions of more than $10,000 that’s derived from unlawful activity, and is punishable by a fine and/or up to 10 years in prison.

Theft of Public Money: Santos was charged with stealing public money from the U.S. Treasury, which is punishable by a fine and/or up to 10 years in prison, for his alleged unemployment scheme, in which the now-lawmaker fraudulently received nearly $25,000 between June 2020 and April 2021, according to the DOJ.

snip