New York prosecutor looking into Rep.-elect George Santos, citing ‘fabrications and inconsistencies’

George Santos, the congressman-elect from New York who’s admitted to “embellishing” his résumé, is being investigated by a New York prosecutor.

“The numerous fabrications and inconsistencies associated with Congressman-Elect Santos are nothing short of stunning. The residents of Nassau County and other parts of the third district must have an honest and accountable representative in Congress,” Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly said in a statement about her fellow Republican on Wednesday. “No one is above the law and if a crime was committed in this county, we will prosecute it.”

Santos, who made history last month as the first openly LGBTQ non-incumbent Republican to be elected to Congress, was the subject of a bombshell investigation The New York Times published this month, which found much of Santos’ background appeared to have been manufactured, including claims that he had worked for Goldman Sachs and Citigroup and had graduated from Baruch College.

The story also raised questions about how he was able to lend his campaign $700,000 after having claimed on a campaign finance form in 2020 that he was making $55,000 per year.

The DA’s probe was first reported by Newsday.

His campaign filings indicated he made millions of dollars in 2021. He told the news site Semafor in an interview Wednesday that he made his money with a company he started that was involved in the “capital introduction” industry after he connected with a network of wealthy investors. He said his work included “specialty consulting” for “high net worth individuals.” Santos’ company was dissolved in September, which Santos told Semafor was the result of his accountant’s turning in late paperwork. 

In an interview Monday with the New York Post, Santos acknowledged having fabricated details about his background, saying: “My sins here are embellishing my resume. I’m sorry.”

Another news outlet, The Forward, had questioned a claim on Santos’ campaign website that his grandparents “fled Jewish persecution in Ukraine, settled in Belgium, and again fled persecution during WWII.” In another story, the site noted that he’d called himself a “proud American Jew” in a position paper that was shared with Jewish and pro-Israel leaders during his campaign.

In his interview with the Post, Santos said, “I never claimed to be Jewish.”

“I am Catholic. Because I learned my maternal family had a Jewish background I said I was ‘Jew-ish,'” he said.

Brendan Brosh, a spokesperson for Donnelly, said only, “We are looking into the matter.” 

The New York attorney general’s office said last week that it is “looking into a number of issues” surrounding Santos.

A representative for Santos did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., the outgoing chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, ignored questions from reporters last week about Santos and whether he should be seated.

Santos had previously tweeted that he was backing McCarthy’s bid to be House speaker.