A scathing Home Ethics Committee report on embattled Republican Rep. George Santos. He was allegedly a cash-strapped candidate and used marketing campaign contributions to reside a lavish life-style — together with spending donors’ cash on journeys to casinos, buying at high-end retailers, and even Botox therapies and OnlyFans funds.
“Consultant Santos was usually in debt, had a really poor credit score rating, and relied on an ever-growing portfolio of high-interest bank cards to fund his lavish spending habits. He would typically deposit giant sums of money that he had by no means beforehand counted, He transferred the cash between his numerous financial institution accounts in a really suspicious method, and withdrew greater than $240,000 in money for unknown functions. a report The staff’s investigative subcommittee discovered it.
The investigation allegedly discovered “a sample of marketing campaign committee expenditures for journey and different private companies that won’t signify respectable, verifiable marketing campaign expenditures.”
The subcommittee additionally alleged that Santos obstructed its investigation.
“With out the cooperation of Rep. Santos, the ISC was unable to confirm whether or not these bills, and others detailed beneath, have been incurred for election marketing campaign functions in good religion,” the report stated. Nonetheless, some bills don’t seem like associated to the election marketing campaign.
Santos chirp The report is “biased” and “a disgusting politicized smear.” He additionally accused the committee of creating “extraordinary efforts to smear myself and my authorized staff about my unpreparedness (my authorized payments point out in any other case).”
Here is a have a look at what the Santos marketing campaign allegedly spent cash on, based on the report:
- Honeymoon in Vegas: The subcommittee reviewed “taxi and lodge costs on the marketing campaign bank card that have been incurred in Las Vegas in December 2021, at a time when Rep. Santos informed his marketing campaign employees that he was on his honeymoon and there have been no corresponding marketing campaign occasions on the honeymoon.” calendar.”
- Hamptons Trip: The subcommittee recognized “Airbnb expenditures on July 7, 2022 of $3,332.81, which have been reported to the FEC as ‘lodge stays.’” A evaluate of the marketing campaign calendar on that date indicated that Rep. Santos was within the Hamptons for the weekend.
- atlantic metropolis: The report famous that $2,281.52 of marketing campaign funds have been spent at resorts in Atlantic Metropolis, New Jersey, from July 23-24, 2022. It stated the subcommittee “didn’t obtain information of any political or marketing campaign occasions that occurred in Atlantic Metropolis at the moment.” One former worker informed the fee that Santos as soon as informed him that he “loved visiting casinos to play roulette, usually together with his spouse.”
- Spa days: “A number of different bills associated to spa companies and/or beauty procedures couldn’t be verified as being associated to the marketing campaign,” the report discovered, citing a $1,500 buy on the marketing campaign’s debit card at Mirza Aesthetics in 2020. “Nor have been reported These bills have been reported to the Federal Election Fee and have been known as “Botox” in expense spreadsheets.” “Equally, the $1,400 cost on the Digital Pores and skin Spa was a marketing campaign debit card buy that was additionally described as ‘Botox’ within the spreadsheets.” Investigators stated in addition they discovered “an unreported cost by way of PayPal of $1,029.30 to an esthetician related to a spa in Rhinebeck, New York.”
- Financial institution accounts: The report discovered that Santos’ marketing campaign committee transferred $200,000 to his private financial institution accounts.
- Hermès, Sephora and OnlyFans: After one $50,000 cost from the marketing campaign committee to Santos, “the funds have been used to, amongst different issues: pay private bank card payments and different money owed; make a $4,127.80 buy at Hermes; for smaller purchases at OnlyFans; Sephora; and for different functions.” “. Meals and parking.”
- Ferragamo Shops: After the marketing campaign transferred $20,000 to a different Santos affiliate in 2022, the cash was used “for about $6,000 in purchases at Ferragamo shops.”
- Withdrawals from ATMs: The $20,000 was additionally used to withdraw $800 from an ATM on the on line casino and one other $1,000 from an ATM close to Santos’ house, the report discovered.
- hire: In line with the report, an undisclosed sum of $20,000 was used for his hire as effectively.
+ There are no comments
Add yours