ECU has fought to hold Santos accountable, filing several complaints over his fraudulent activity
End Citizens United (ECU) President Tiffany Muller released the following statement following the vote to expel George Santos from Congress after 23 federal charges against him:
“While George Santos shamefully is allowed to serve another day, this cannot be the end of the fight for accountability. Following the Ethics Committee’s investigation, Congress must swiftly act and finally end this fraud. Corruption undermines the foundation of democracy and after 23 federal charges, expelling him shouldn’t be this hard.
“Santos is a great shame to New York’s 3rd congressional district; he’s failed those he was elected to serve. His constituents deserve someone who will actually stand up and fight for them—rather than focus on his own enrichment schemes—and we look forward to electing a real champion of democracy.”
End Citizens United has been a leader in holding Santos accountable for his corruption. The organization has filed several complaints with the Federal Election Commission, the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), and the Department of Justice, providing evidence of Santos’ illegal activity. Earlier this year, ECU launched a campaign putting pressure on GOP representatives to donate the tainted money they took from Santos.
See below for a recap of complaints filed by End Citizens United:
The DOJ complaint states that Santos violated federal law on multiple occasions by failing to file any financial disclosure reports in 2021 as required and failing to file on time in 2022 prior to the Republican primary election on August 23. In addition, after Santos donated more than $500,000 to his own campaign, he failed to accurately disclose several sources of income and identify which banking institution they belong to, and failed to identify clients he allegedly performed services for through the Devolder Organization.
Recent reporting indicates that Mr. Santos may have funded the more than $700,000 in loans he made to his campaign using funds from a company he purportedly owned or, in the alternative, using the company as a “shell” to disguise the true sources of the contributions, in violation of Act’s strict ban on corporation contributions and contributions in the name of another. Additionally, the campaign disclosed hundreds of expenditures in amounts under $200, with nearly 40 disbursements in the precise amount of $199.99, apparently to skirt the Act’s recordkeeping requirements. There is also reason to believe that the campaign may have violated the Act’s personal use prohibition by making rental payments at a home where Mr. Santos was living.
Sam Miele, who worked as a fundraiser for George Santos’ congressional campaign during the 2020 and 2022 election cycles, impersonated Dan Meyer, the chief of staff to then Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, to solicit campaign contributions to Santos’ campaign. Federal law states that no person shall fraudulently misrepresent themselves as acting on behalf of a candidate or an agent of a candidate for the purpose of soliciting contributions.
Santos illegally reported campaign expenses in connection with a recount effort for his failed 2020 election despite the fact that a recount never occurred. Santos lost by 12.4% in that election. It also alleges that Santos used funds for the recount to pay for campaign expenditures associated with his 2022 campaign, and that he filed a late statement of candidacy.
On December 29, 2022, reports emerged that Devolder Santos for Congress, Santos’s principal campaign committee, sent invitations to his swearing-in event that included a fundraising appeal. The email stated that individuals who contributed $100 as an attendee or $500 as a VIP would get a roundtrip bus from New York to Washington, D.C. and be able to participate in a luncheon, the Congressman’s swearing-in ceremony, and a “Team Santos” tour of Capitol Grounds. Soliciting funds in connection with a swearing-in event held on Capitol grounds is a blatant violation of both U.S. Federal Code and House Ethics rules.
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