Rep. George Santos’ father and aunt guaranteed his $500,000 bond, consistent with a court record unsealed Thursday over the congressman’s objection.
Santos, a first-term Republican congressman who represents portions of Queens and Nassau County in New York, posted the bond after pleading now not to blame remaining month to a 13-count indictment accusing him of fraud, cash laundering and robbery of public finances.
His bond was once guaranteed via Gercino Santos and Elma Santos Preven, who Santos first informed ABC News’ Rachel Scott are his father and his aunt.
In May, the House Ethics Committee despatched a letter to Santos inquiring for the names of his suretors so it would decide “whether you may have solicited or received an improper gift in connection with the bond sureties.”
However his lawyer up to now expressed a choice for Santos to visit prison somewhat than unlock the names of the bail backers to the general public, and argued hurt may just befall the suretors if their identities had been printed.
“Here in the instant case, the suretors are likely to suffer great distress, may lose their jobs, and god forbid suffer physical injury,” protection Joseph Murray mentioned in a court submitting.
“I’m also concerned for the safety of the people whose names will be revealed who are family members, and I worry about their safety,” Santos informed ABC News an afternoon prior to the names had been launched.
Rep. George Santos waits for the beginning of a consultation within the House chamber on the Capitol in Washington, D.C., Jan. 6, 2023.
Alex Brandon/AP, FILE
But federal Judge Joanna Seybert sided with a coalition of news organizations, together with ABC News, who argued that the names will have to be made public.
Federal Election Commission data show an Elma S. Preven of New York donated to Devolder-Santos for Congress 3 times in 2021, totaling simply over $4,000. The data indexed Preven on the time as a mail handler for the United States Postal Service.
Neither she nor Gercino Santos replied to a request for remark from ABC News.
The House Ethics Committee has been investigating Santos since March. This week, two House Democrats — Dan Goldman of Brooklyn and Greg Landsman of Cincinnati — requested the House Ethics Committee to divulge whether or not Santos had complied with the committee’s request to show the suretors’ names.
The embattled congressman faces 5 counts of twine fraud in what prosecutors allege was once a fraudulent political contribution solicitation scheme, in addition to two counts of illegal financial transactions for allegedly moving donations he won for his political marketing campaign to accounts he managed prior to spending them on private purchases; one depend of robbery of public cash; two extra counts of twine fraud for allegedly fraudulently making use of for and receiving unemployment advantages all through the COVID-19 pandemic; and two counts of constructing false statements to the U.S. House of Representatives in monetary disclosure experiences.
Santos, who has been accused of misrepresenting components of his employment document, his training, and his circle of relatives historical past, has admitted that he lied about parts of his background whilst operating for Congress.
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