George Santos fact vs. fiction: What the Long Island Rep.-elect said vs. the truth

Soon-to-be congressman George Santos (R-L.I.) has admitted to lying about large swaths of his life following several investigations into his past.

The Long Island Republican, 34, still plans to take office next week to represent New York’s 3rd Congressional District. As he faces multiple legal investigations, here’s a breakdown of what Santos has said compared to the truth.

His grandparents

What Santos said: His maternal grandparents fled persecution of Jews in Europe before World War II. In one tweet in July 2021, Santos called himself a “grandson of Holocaust refugees.”

The truth: Both of Santos’ maternal grandparents were born in Brazil, according to an extensive investigation by Jewish news outlet The Forward. His grandfather was born in 1918 and his grandmother was born in 1927. Adolf Hitler’s rule of Germany began in 1933.

Being Jewish

What Santos said: In a campaign document sent to several Jewish groups, Santos described himself as “a proud American Jew.”

The truth: Santos is Catholic. He previously described himself as an unobservant Jew, and in post-exposé interviews called himself as “Jew-ish.”

The Pulse nightclub shooting

What Santos said: Four of his employees died in the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando in 2016.

The truth: None of the 49 victims of the second-deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history appear to have had any connection to Santos, according to the initial New York Times investigation.

College

What Santos said: That he graduated from Baruch College in 2010 and at one point attended New York University.

The truth: Santos never graduated from college and did not attend NYU, as he admitted in an interview earlier this week. “I didn’t graduate from any institution of higher learning. I’m embarrassed and sorry for having embellished my resume,” he said.

Employment

What Santos said: That he worked for Citigroup and Goldman Sachs on Wall Street.

The truth: Neither company has any record of Santos working there.

Charity work

What Santos said: He described a group he founded, Friends of Pets United, as an animal rescue charity.

The truth: The Internal Revenue Service has no record of such a charity, according to the Times. A woman who was supposed to benefit from a Friends of Pets United fundraiser in 2017 told the paper she never saw a dime.

Property ownership

What Santos said: During New York’s pandemic eviction moratorium, Santos claimed he was a landlord who was suffering. “Will we landlords ever be able to take back possession of our property?” he asked on Twitter in February 2021.

The truth: The Times found no evidence that Santos owned any properties in New York. He listed no such properties on financial disclosure forms. In fact, Santos faced eviction proceedings in 2015 and 2017 while renting separate properties.

9/11

What Santos said: His mother was in the South Tower on 9/11 and died “a few years later” from cancer related to the toxic air at Ground Zero that day.

The truth: Santos’ mother died from cancer on Dec. 23, 2016, more than 15 years after 9/11. If she was in the South Tower on Sept. 11, 2001, the cancer could have been caused by the toxic air that day. However, Santos’ family never sought money from the 9/11 victims fund. “She never applied for relief because her motto was, ‘I can afford it,’” Santos said in a 2021 radio interview.