George Santos indictment says various Florida companies were part of his fraud scheme

New York Congressman George Santos is facing multiple federal charges in connection to a fraudulent political contribution scheme that involved various Florida-based companies, according to a federal indictment.

The 13-count indictment unsealed Wednesday in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York charges U.S. Rep. Santos with seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds, and two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives. If convicted, Santos faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the top counts.

Outside of the courthouse, Santos told reporters Wednesday afternoon that the indictment is a “witch hunt.”

“I’m going to fight the witch hunt,” he said. “I’m going to take care of clearing my name.”

What is Santos accused of?

Santos’ illegal activities went on for several years, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Here’s some of the crimes Santos is accused of committing:

▪ Using tens of thousands of dollars in political contributions to enrich himself, including the purchase of designer clothing and payment credit cards, during his second run for Congress, in 2022. Santos is also accused of using his personal bank accounts to launder the money.

▪ Applying for and receiving nearly $25,000 in unemployment benefits while he was employed as a “regional director” by an investment firm, where he earned an annual salary of approximately $120,000, and running for Congress at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic from 2020 to 2021.

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▪ Misled the U.S. House of Representatives in his financial disclosure statements, where he, among other things, failed to report nearly $50,000 in income from the investment firm and unemployment insurance benefits in 2021.

How is Florida connected to the scheme?

According to federal investigators, Santos used several Florida-based companies to commit some of the illegal activities.

READ MORE: George Santos reported lots of spending in Florida. Here’s where he says he went

Here’s what the indictment says about that:

▪ Santos induced supporters to contribute tens of thousands of dollars to a company based in Merritt Island, Florida, to back his candidacy, but he pocketed the money for personal expenses instead. With the help of a political consultant, he falsely stated to his supporters that their donations were going into a non-profit legally allowed to spend money on political campaigns, resulting in at least two wire transfers of $25,000 each in 2022. The name of the business is known to federal agents but wasn’t revealed in the indictment.

▪ Devolder Organization LLC, a Melbourne, Florida-based company, was owned by Santos and was one of two authorized managers of the Merritt Island business that was used to receive the political donations.

READ MORE: A look at some of the falsehoods that made Congressman George Santos a household name

▪ And remember the salary from an investment firm that investigators say Santos failed to report after he worked as their regional director? The name of the Melbourne, Florida-based corporation was not revealed in the indictment. But The Washington Post reported earlier this year that Santos was the New York regional director of Harbor City Capital, a now defunct investment firm whose assets were frozen in 2021 when the Securities and Exchange Commission accused it of running a “classic Ponzi scheme.” The Post reported that Harbor City Capital called Santos a “perfect fit” when it hired him a year earlier.