Brazil Reopens George Santos Fraud Case
Republican US Congressman George Santos is facing criticism after admitting he made up a significant portion of his resume, according to Brazilian prosecutors, who said Wednesday that they have revived long-standing fraud allegations against him.
According to local media, the first-term congressman from New York who helped the Republican Party earn a slim majority in the House of Representatives in 2022 is charged in Brazil of using a stolen checkbook to purchase almost $700 in goods from a store in 2008.
It is the most recent legal setback for the 34-year-old, who also faces a criminal probe in New York after admitting he embellished his resume by lying about his education, employment at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, and other details.
The state prosecutor’s office in Rio de Janeiro stated in an email to AFP that it has asked to reopen the investigation.
Due to the fact that detectives were unable to find George Santos, the case had been archived.
The prosecutor’s office noted that “the accused has now been elected to Congress in the United States, meaning he has a verifiable residence.”
It claimed to have petitioned a criminal court in Niteroi, a city outside of Rio where the alleged incident took place, on Tuesday to reopen the case.
George Santos could not be reached for comment right away.
Although prosecutors said that as a first-time offender, he would be qualified for an alternative penalty, such as community service, if found guilty in Brazil, which has an extradition relationship with the United States.
George Santos is the son of Brazilian immigrants, and his connections to that South American nation are among the details of his past that are being scrutinized.
Authorities claimed they were unable to determine whether the man was a citizen of Brazil.
He has claimed that his grandparents were European Jews who immigrated to Brazil after escaping “Stalin’s persecution” and subsequently Hitler’s Nazis.
He told the New York Post, however, that he was Catholic after US media inquiries cast doubt on his claim that he was Jewish and revealed that his ancestors were actually born in Brazil. I declared myself to be “Jew-ish” after learning that my mother’s family was Jewish.
While this was going on, a New York Times investigation questioned how Santos, who claimed to earn $55,000 annually in a financial file from 2020, was able to loan his campaign $700,000.
Meanwhile New York Post report, George Santos has reportedly admitted to stealing checkbook in brazil in 2008
