Long Island Representative-Elect George Santos has admitted to lying and intentionally misrepresenting himself in several different instances over the past few years. After facing accusations of lying in the NY Times, Santos admitted in an interview with the NY Post that he had indeed lied and misrepresented himself. Santos has lied about several matters ranging from his religious affinity, his former place of employment, and the cause of his mother’s death.
Santos admitted that his resume contained false information. He had never been an employee of Goldman Sachs or Citigroup as claimed in his resume. He instead claimed he worked very closely with the financial institutions as the vice president of Link Bridge. He also admitted that he had never attended college, despite claiming he had graduated from Baruch College in 2010.
“I didn’t graduate from any institution of higher learning. I’m embarrassed and sorry for having embellished my resume,” he said. “I own up to that. We do stupid things in life.”
Santos previously claimed that he was of Jewish heritage, asserting that his mother was Jewish and that his grandparents had escaped Nazi Germany during the Holocaust. He instead confirmed that he is Catholic. “I never claimed to be Jewish,” Santos said. “I am Catholic. Because I learned my maternal family had a Jewish background I said I was ‘Jew-ish.’”
Santos has consistently shown a propensity for dishonesty. Santos claimed that he was gay but it turns out he was once in a five-year marriage to a woman. “I dated women in the past. I married a woman. It’s personal stuff,” Santos said. “I’m very much gay,” he said. “I’m OK with my sexuality. People change. I’m one of those people who change.”
The representative-elect is also alleged to have committed fraud in 2008 while in Brazil. Santos reportedly stole a checkbook belonging to a man under his mother’s care. He then allegedly made two purchases with the checkbook. While it is reported that he confessed to the crime, the case was never resolved according to The Hill. “I am not a criminal here — not here or in Brazil or any jurisdiction in the world,” Santos told the Post. “Absolutely not. That didn’t happen.”
Santos also received a judgment for defaulting on a rental payment of an apartment in Sunnyside, Queens. He was ordered by a judge to pay the landlord of the apartment over $12,000. Santos claims he failed to make the payments because was paying for his mother’s medical bills. “We were engulfed in debt,” he said. “We had issues paying rent at the time. It’s the vulnerability of being human. I am not embarrassed by it.” Santos also confirmed that he never paid what he owed. He admitted that he also lied about owning 13 properties. “George Santos does not own any properties,” he said.
Despite the exposure of his alleged lies and the resulting infamy from his behavior, Santos believes he is the right person to fulfill his mandate. “I intend to deliver on the promises I made during the campaign — fighting crime, fighting to lower inflation, improving education,” he said. “The people elected me to fight for them.”
Political analyst Errol Louis spoke on CNN and gave his perspective on the issue. Louis previously interviewed Santos soon after November’s midterm elections. He stated that there is a possibility Santos broke some laws. “The overall problem is that he may have violated any number of local or federal laws and yet he is on track to become a lawmaker unless something changes.” According to Louis, Santos ran a charity organization known as Friends of Pets United in New York that seemingly did not provide the necessary assistance as required after receiving financial support. There is also no record of the organization with the Internal Revenue Service. Because of all the false statements he made, there is the possibility that Santos broke the False Statements Act, a federal law that previously affected Martha Stewart.
