He doesn’t stay away from the media for long. This time, the news indirectly involves George Santos, the Republican congressman from New York, son of a Brazilian, indicted for fraud, money laundering, and possession of public funds.
One of Santos’ employees, Samuel Miele, who worked on the then-candidate’s campaign during the 2020 and 2022 election cycles, was indicted by a federal jury in Brooklyn for allegedly impersonating a senior congressional aide to solicit contributions for the Republican’s campaign in 2021, according to court documents.
Miele allegedly posed as a key aide to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. He is accused of soliciting contributions from over a dozen potential donors using the aide’s identity in communications via phone and email, the indictment states.
Miele created an email account purportedly belonging to McCarthy’s staffer and sent fundraising requests signing the full name and title of the aide, prosecutors claim.
Santos’ fundraiser received a 15% commission on the campaign contributions he raised, the document states.
According to the indictment, Miele wrote to Santos in a September 2022 email: “Pretending my identity for a big donor.”
“High risk, high reward in everything I do,” Miele also wrote.
Miele’s attorney, Kevin H. Marino, stated in a statement to CNN that his client “is not guilty of these charges.”
Miele surrendered on Wednesday morning (17) and pleaded not guilty. He was released on a $150,000 bond. An initial hearing is scheduled for August 22.
Meanwhile, Santos Missed Deadline to Report His Finances
Filing financial disclosure reports to the House annually is routine for the more than 400 representatives who inhabit it. But for George Santos, the matter has the potential to become yet another saga.
Santos, a first-term Republican, missed the August 13 deadline to submit his reports, a lapse that could result in fines. He had already received a 90-day extension from the original deadline, which was May 15. A spokesperson for Santos did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The New York Times.
The House Ethics Committee receives and reviews the reports, which provide the public with more detailed financial information about their representatives.
There is much speculation about whether Santos’ financial disclosure can clarify the origin of the more than $700,000 he lent to his own campaign.
Santos claimed he earned the money legally through his company, the Devolder Organization, which he says acts as an intermediary in business dealings involving wealthy individuals.
But federal prosecutors allege that Santos falsified the statements he made as a candidate for the House in 2020 and 2022, saying he distorted his income from the Devolder Organization and the amounts in his bank accounts.
Consequences
The fees charged to representatives who delay their disclosures are relatively insignificant—$200—members of Congress earn $174,000 annually—and are only imposed if the report is late by more than 30 days after the due date.
In the unlikely event that Santos fails to submit any reports, he could face a civil fine of up to $71,316.
Source: CNN and The New York Times