George Santos controversies: a timeline | family, résumé, expelled from Congress, federal fraud case…
Former Republican Rep. George Santos has pleaded guilty to mulitple charges in his long-running fraud case that brought down his political career.
The US Congress is no stranger to pantomime, and a huge farce that had been dominating the halls of power seems to be drawing to a close.
Former Rep. George Santos, a New York Republican, has pleaded guilty to his 23-count indictment that could result in him spending the rest of his life in prison. It is not clear how many charges he is pleading guilty for.
Away from these criminal actions, a wealth of evidence has been emerging questioning nearly every aspect of his past, including even the veracity of his name.
Let’s break down the confusing past of Rep. Santos. The big source is the huge New York Times investigation which picked apart dozens of stories Santos has told over the years. This report led to a number of other investigations from other outlets which has led to federal officials in two countries opening investigations.
Timeline of George Santos’ life
22 July 1988 - George Santos is born under the name Anthony Devolder, one of a number of aliases, to a Brazilian family in the US.
2008 - Santos moves to Brazil for three years. Acquanitances claim he competed as a drag queen using the name Kitara Ravache. Allegedly forges checks to buy clothing.
2010 - Charged with check fraud in Brazil though the case is shelved as authorities cannot locate him.
2013 - Claims to a roommate he was working at New York Fashion Week.
2014 - A number of instances of not paying rent.
2016 - Evicted from second property for unpaid rent. Claims in court that he was robbed of rent money and spoke to police. No police report exists.
2016 - Homeless veteran Richard Osthoff claims Santos’ charity stole $3,000 in donations for Ostoff’s dog’s health. The money was never given and the dog died.
2017 - Evicted a third time including a civil judgment of $12,208 against him. Debt yet to be paid as of publication saying he “completely forgot about it”.
2019 - Claims to have studied at Horace Mann School in the Bronx. The school denies he studied there.
January 2020 - Santos works for investment firm Harbor City Capital. The company is under investigation for Ponzi scheme-related fraud.
November 2020 - Loses the 2020 election in New York’s 3rd congressional district to Democrat Thomas Suozzi.
July 2021 - Lies that his mother was killed in the 9/11 attacks.
Autumn 2022 - Santos’ company, Devolder Organization, lends his campaign $700,000. Santos paid himself $750,000 a year with up to $5 million in dividends. This is the same amount that the whole company is worth.
6 September 2022 - A report in The North Shore Leader, a Rhode Island based paper, questions Santos’ sudden influx of money between 2020 and 2022, going from nothing to over $11 million.
8 November 2022 - Santos beats Suozzi to claim the 3rd congressional district in New York.
November 2022 - Lies that he had employees killed in the Pulse nightclub shooting.
December 2022 - Claims in a Brazilian interview that he had been the victim of multiple robberies and assaults. No records exist.
19 December 2022 - The New York Times claims Santos’ background is “largely fiction”.
21 December - Reports emerge that Santos lied about his grandparents being killed in the holocaust.
26 December 2022 - Santos admits he lied about graduating from college as well as working at Goldman Sachs.
28 December 2022 - Federal prosecutors begin probing Santos’ finances.
2 January 2023 - Rio de Janeiro prosecutors reopen the 2010 fraud case against Santos.
11 January 2023 - Republican officials call for Santos to resign. He refuses.
17 January 2023 - Santos is given seats on two committees, Small Business Committee and the Science, Space, and Technology Committee.
19 January 2023 - Santos denies the reports of being a drag queen though two days later says “I was young and I had fun at a festival.”
1 February 2023 - Steps down from committee positions.
2 February 2023 - Veteran Osthoff reports he has given evidence to the FBI around the scandal over the stolen charity money. “I’m glad to get the ball rolling with the big-wigs,” Osthoff told Politico. “I was worried that what happened to me was too long ago to be prosecuted.”
10 May 2023 - Santos is arrested for 23 federal charges, including fraud and money laundering.
1 November 2023 - Santos faces expulsion vote in Congress, with New York Republicans saying his ouster is a “moral” issue.
17 August 2024 - Santos pleads guilty to felony charges in court.