Secret Service has declaration of Brazilian ATM thief who reportedly says George Santos “in charge” of skimming operation

The U.S. Secret Service has won and is reviewing a sworn declaration from a Brazilian guy who claims Rep. George Santos used to be “in charge of” a fraud scheme that ended in the person’s arrest in 2017 for putting in skimmers at a Seattle financial institution ATM, an individual conversant in the subject showed to CBS News.

Santos used to be interviewed in 2017 by way of Secret Service investigators, and the probe stays open, in line with two resources.

The declaration is a “significant” construction, A.T. Smith, a former deputy director of the Secret Service stated. 

“Could this jumpstart a new inquiry? Yes,” stated Smith, now a legislation enforcement analyst for CBS News. “Probably what the service would want to do, they would probably need to interview that individual again personally and take a sworn statement themselves.”

The declaration used to be bought and printed by way of Politico. In the record, Gustavo Ribeiro Trelha claimed Santos taught him easy methods to use skimmers — which scouse borrow non-public information from playing cards inserted into ATM machines —  after they have been roommates close to Orlando, Florida. 

“I am coming forward today to declare that the person in charge of the crime of credit card fraud when I was arrested was George Santos / Anthony Devolder,” Trelha wrote within the declaration, relating to a reputation Santos used prior to now. The declaration used to be despatched by way of an lawyer for Trelha to the Secret Service, a U.S. lawyer’s administrative center and the FBI.

Trelha used to be arrested at Seattle’s Pike Place Market in 2017 and later that yr entered a responsible plea to 1 federal rely of prison get entry to instrument fraud and used to be deported to his local Brazil. The evening of his arrest, investigators recovered an empty FedEx bundle bearing the deal with of Santos’ Florida condo from Trelha’s apartment automobile, main investigators one by one from two companies, the Seattle Police Department and the Secret Service, to Santos. The Secret Service is the federal company charged with investigating credit and credit card fraud.

Santos used to be puzzled by way of telephone by way of a Seattle detective, in line with a legislation enforcement supply, and later tracked down in New York City by way of Secret Service brokers, turning over two mobile phones all over an interview there in line with the 2 resources conversant in the federal investigation.

Santos used to be neither charged nor named a suspect within the investigation. Santos has declined to speak about the case. An lawyer for Santos didn’t answer when requested about Trelha’s declaration.

At a bail listening to for Trelha in May 2017, Santos traveled to Washington State and gave the impression on Trelha’s behalf. Santos described himself as a circle of relatives good friend, and claimed to the pass judgement on that he used to be an aspiring baby-kisser who labored for the funding company Goldman Sachs. After being elected to Congress years later, he stated that he by no means labored for the monetary company.

But Trelha tells a special tale in his declaration, announcing Santos “stole” cash that Trelha’s circle of relatives had despatched for bail, and he portrayed Santos because the brains of the operation.

“Santos taught me how to skim card information and how to clone cards. He gave me all the materials and taught me how to put skimming devices and cameras on ATM machines,” Trelha stated within the declaration.

Trelha wrote in his declaration that he visited an Orlando warehouse the place Santos “had a lot of material — parts, printers, blank ATM and credit cards to be painted and engraved with stolen account and personal information.”

The warehouse “is a lead that should probably be run out” by way of investigators, Smith stated, including that if there is a report of Santos renting space for storing there, “it would add some credence to the declaration.”