WASHINGTON — Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., was taken into custody Wednesday morning at a Long Island courthouse as the Department of Justice unsealed a 13-count federal indictment against him.
Santos, 34, is expected to be arraigned on Wednesday during which the charges against him will be read.
The congressman has been charged with seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds, and two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives, according to the DOJ.
Santos, who represents New York's 3rd congressional district, is accused of engaging in three schemes in the indictment.
In the first scheme, he defrauded prospective political supporters in September 2022 by enlisting a Queens-based political consultant — described by the DOJ as “Person #1” — to communicate with possible donors on the congressman’s behalf.
“Santos allegedly directed Person #1 to falsely tell donors that, among other things, their money would be used to help elect Santos to the House, including by purchasing television advertisements,” the DOJ said.
Two unnamed contributors then each transferred $25,000 to a bank account that Santos controlled. Santos used much of that money for personal expenses, including buying designer clothing, the DOJ alleged.
In the second scheme, Santos engaged in unemployment insurance fraud beginning in 2020 by applying for unemployment benefits that were made available to out-of-work Americans during...
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