Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) has reached a deal with Brazilian prosecutors to resolve a 15-year-old fraud case, according to CNN.
However, the New York Republican also faces graver investigations by the House Ethics Committee, the Nassau County district attorney, the New York state attorney general, the Queens district attorney, and reportedly the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of New York, over a wide variety of allegations. The resolution in the Brazilian case is only a minor step in clearing all the pending investigations into the “lying congressman’s” misdeeds.
Indeed, there seems to be no end to the accusations made against him. Just this earlier this month, Santos’s former roommate, Gustavo Ribeiro Trelha, levied the most recent allegations against the congressman, claiming that he orchestrated a credit card skimming operation to steal information from ATMs and credit cards. Santos has denied that he participated in any “criminal activity” when asked about the accusations but the allegation adds one more investigation into his shady actions.
As part of the agreement reached with Brazilian authorities, Santos will formally confess to defrauding a Rio de Janeiro clerk of $1,300 in clothes and shoes in 2008 and pay damages to the victim, CNN reported.
Brazilian prosecutors reopened the case in January, about a decade after the case was archived because authorities were unable to locate Santos. Thanks to the notoriety that he gained by winning the congressional seat and the subsequent publicity that unveiled his scams, the Brazilian authorities finally tracked him down.
As one commenter facetiously stated: “One fraud conviction down, so many more to go!”
