Republican George Santos arrested in New York after surrendering to authorities
Republican representative George Santos has been arrested and charged with federal criminal offences including wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds, and making false statements.
Mitt Romney appears to clash with George Santos
US Republican George Santos, who faced outrage and mockery over a litany of fabrications about his heritage, education and professional pedigree, has been charged with a 13-count indictment.
This includes 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.
The Justice Department unsealed the federal charges against Santos Wednesday as the New York Republican remains in custody.
Santos was taken into custody in Melville on Long Island, and then later taken to the courthouse in Central Islip.
The House Ethics Committee, the Federal Election Commission, and local and federal prosecutors among others, have been investigating the New York Republican since he was elected.
Santos said he was unaware of the charges when reached for comment on Tuesday.
He said: "This is news to me. You're the first person to call me about this."
Derek Myers, a former aide to the congressman, tweeted that he had been working as a “confidential informant and human asset” for the FBI.
Don't miss...
Man arrested after bloated corpse of mum found rotting inside their home [LATEST]
Evil woman murdered stepson and dumped his body in suitcase over a bridge [INSIGHT]
Scan photos show devastating damage to kidnapped Angel Lynn's skull [COMMENT]
The Republican rep is set to be arraigned Wednesday around 1pm ET in a federal courthouse in Long Island.
The indictment reveals the three schemes Santos is charged with including being suspected of conducting the fraudulent political contribution plot.
He is also accused of an unemployment insurance fraud scheme, in which he applied for government aid during the pandemic despite being employed by an investment firm in Florida and being paid $120,000, according to prosecutors.
The indictment also states that Santos misled the House about his finances.
He is accused of overstating a source of funds while not sharing his salary from the investment firm during his failed campaign in 2020.
During his second campaign, in 2022, Santos is accused of including inaccurate information on his financial disclosure form.
In response to the Republican's arrest, Ed Cox, New York GOP chairman told The New York Times that Santos won't last in Congress now.
“He’s out, no matter how you do it, because we have a good party in Nassau County,” Mr Cox told the paper.
Follow our social media accounts here on https://www.facebook.com/