TALLAHASSEE — The heart of the federal case against infamous U.S. Rep. George Santos on fraud and money-laundering charges runs through companies in Brevard County, according to federal investigators.

The indictment released Wednesday refers to two Brevard County companies created in 2021, about the time Santos began running for Congress on Long Island. It also identifies a Melbourne-based investment firm where Santos, R-New York, had worked that had been accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission of running a Ponzi scheme.

It’s not the first time Santos, elected in 2022, and his past have cut a course through Central Florida. He lived in the Orlando area for about nine months in 2016, where he falsely claimed that four of his employees were victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting that left 49 dead.

The 13-count indictment on wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and making false statements to the House of Representatives was released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. If convicted, Santos faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the top counts.

Santos, whose full name is George Anthony Devolder-Santos, set up the Devolder Organization in Melbourne in May 2021. Its registered agent, identified in the indictment as Person #1, was a Merritt Island company run by a political consultant from Queens, N.Y., the indictment said.

State corporation records show the registered agent for the Devolder Organization is D&D International Investment Services of Merritt Island, whose manager is Devaughn Dames, which means Dames is most likely Person #1 and D&D is Company #1 in the indictment.

“I don’t have any knowledge of the indictment,” Dames said in an interview Wednesday. “I can’t comment on anything related to George Santos.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office gave no comment beyond the indictment and press release.

Santos used Person #1 to tell donors that they needed $700,000 to reach a goal of $1.5 million and they should write their checks out to Company #1, the indictment said. The donors were told the company was a social welfare organization when it is, in fact, a Florida for-profit corporation.

Two donors each deposited $25,000, and the money was quickly transferred into Santos’ personal bank accounts, the indictment said. In at least one instance, Santos laundered the money through two of his personal accounts, which he used to buy designer clothes, pay off debts and give to friends, the indictment said.

According to Mother Jones and other news media reports, Santos and Dames formed Devolder shortly after the Securities and Exchange Commission began investigating Melbourne-based Harbor City Capital for allegedly running a $17 million Ponzi scheme.

Santos was the regional director and Dames was chief financial officer of Harbor City Capital.

Neither Dames nor his company has been charged or named in the indictment against Santos.

The indictment also describes a Nevada corporation as Investment Firm #1 with its place of business in Melbourne involved in retail sales of securities products, where Santos worked as regional director and was paid $120,000 a year. Santos worked at Harbor City from January 2020 to March 31, 2021, the indictment said.

But when he filled out an application for unemployment benefits with the state of New York, Santos claimed he had been out of work since March 2020. He received $24,000 in benefits from June 2020 through April 2021, the indictment said.