"Rep. George Santos Indicted on 23-Count Superseding Indictment for Conspiracy, Wire Fraud, and More"

U.S. Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., has been charged with conspiracy, wire fraud, and other offenses in a 23-count superseding indictment. The charges include stealing people's identities, making unauthorized charges on donors' credit cards, and lying to the Federal Election Commission. Santos allegedly inflated his campaign's reported receipts and submitted false reports to the FEC to mislead officials and the public. The indictment also alleges that Santos participated in multiple fraudulent schemes. His treasurer, Nancy Marks, has already pleaded guilty to related conduct. Santos has refused to resign and denies the new charges.

The U.S. Attorney's office has filed a 23-count superseding indictment against Rep. George Santos, a Republican from New York. The indictment, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, charges Santos with various offenses, including conspiracy to commit offenses against the U.S., wire fraud, and lying to the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

The indictment includes one count of conspiracy to commit offenses against the U.S., two counts of wire fraud, two counts of making false statements to the FEC, two counts of falsifying records submitted to the FEC, two counts of aggravated identity theft, and one count of device fraud. These charges are in addition to the original indictment filed in May, which included seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds, and two counts of making false statements to the U.S. House of Representatives.

According to U.S. Attorney Breon Peace, Santos is accused of stealing people's identities and making unauthorized charges on his own donors' credit cards. He is also accused of lying to the FEC and the public about the financial state of his campaign. The indictment alleges that Santos inflated his campaign's reported receipts with non-existent loans and contributions that were either fabricated or stolen. The U.S. Attorney's office is committed to pursuing criminal charges against anyone who uses the electoral process to defraud the public and government institutions.

The latest indictment reveals that Santos, who also goes by Anthony Devloder, was involved in two additional fraudulent schemes on top of those alleged in the original indictment. When Santos was a candidate for the House of Representatives, he and the treasurer of his campaign committee, Nancy Marks, allegedly submitted false reports to the FEC to obtain money for the campaign. They inflated the fundraising numbers to deceive FEC officials, the national party committee, and the public. This scheme was designed to ensure that Santos' campaign qualified for a program offered by the national party, which required raising $250,000 from third-party contributors in one quarter.

Santos and Marks, who recently pleaded guilty to related conduct, created the appearance that the campaign met the fundraising benchmark by falsely reporting that 10 of their family members made financial contributions. They also reported false loans, including a $500,000 loan, despite Santos having only $8,000 in his personal and business bank accounts. These fraudulent actions helped Santos meet the financial benchmarks to receive support from the national party.

In the second scheme, Santos allegedly stole the identity and financial information of campaign contributors and made unauthorized charges on their credit cards. The money from these transactions was funneled into Santos' campaign, other candidates' campaigns, and his own bank account. Santos is also accused of falsifying documents to conceal the source of the funds, claiming they were made by others instead of the true bank account owners.

One specific instance mentioned in the indictment involves Santos using a contributor's credit card without their knowledge or authorization and attempting to make $44,800 in charges while hiding the true source of the money.

Santos' office has not responded to inquiries about the allegations. However, a spokesperson for Santos has stated that he will not resign and claims that he was not aware of the new charges detailed in the indictment.

Santos, who ran unsuccessfully in 2020 but won in 2022, was sworn into office on January 7, 2023. Earlier this year, it was revealed that Santos allegedly fabricated parts of his résumé, including falsely claiming to have worked for major Wall Street firms, graduated from Baruch College, and being a descendant of a Holocaust survivor. Despite calls for his resignation, Santos has refused to step down.

It is important to note that this article has been rewritten and does not mention that it is a rewrite.

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