More Trouble for GOP House Freshman George Santos, This Time in Brazil

George Santos, the Brazilian-American freshman Republican member of the House of Representatives, was exposed as lying about his education and career.

He is getting into more legal trouble after Brazil’s authorities restarted a 2008 criminal fraud case against him.

Multiple Claims Exposed as Lies

George Santos made headlines last year (for being a gay Latino Republican candidate for Congress) and then once again in the November 2022 midterms after he flipped a traditionally Democratic seat, that of New York’s 3rd congressional district.

However, a recent report by The New York Times exposed him as having lied about his family origin, education, and work resume during the electoral campaign.

In media interviews last week, Santos acknowledged he “embellished” parts of his CV, but claimed he would still do well as a US lawmaker.

Santos’s debunked claims include various aspects of his life, such as alleging that he was of Ukrainian Jewish descent on his mother’s side.  Santos also claimed his mother had been an immigrant born in Belgium, but she was actually born in Brazil. 

The newly-elected GOP member also lied about attending the Horace Mann High School in New York, Baruch College, and New York University.  

Even though he worked for a call center, Santos claimed he had been employed by Citigroup and Goldman Sachs. However, he backtracked on that when exposed, saying he hadn’t worked for them “directly,” but ran a firm that did business with the two corporate giants. 

Other of Santos’ debunked claims include his family having over ten real estate properties and his having battled a brain tumor.

Additional false claims involve Santos having lost some of his employees to the 2016 Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando, Florida, having been mugged of a large sum of money, and having founded a charitable foundation for pet rescue. 

At least two investigations into George Santos’ claims have already been launched by prosecutors in New York, one of them particularly looking into his campaign finances. 

George Santos’ Affairs Back in Brazil 

In further trouble for the freshman Republican, Brazil’s authorities restarted an investigation in which he allegedly used a stolen checkbook and spent some $700 using a false name, The Daily Mail reported. 

The criminal investigation was suspended by the authorities in Rio de Janeiro almost ten years ago because Santos could not be found. The purchase under the false name allegedly happened in the city of Niteroi, in a clothing store. 

Santos reportedly wrote on a Brazilian social media platform that in the 2008 incident, he “screwed up,” but wanted to “pay.”

In an interview with The New York Post last week, the newly elected congressman stated he was not a criminal in the US, Brazil, or anywhere else. 

On Monday, The New York Times reported a former lover of Santos, Pedro Vilarva, who lived with him in 2014, broke up with him after learning the former was wanted by the Brazilian authorities. 

The Republican Party is yet to take a more definite stance on Santos’ affairs. His vote in the House is essential to the GOP, which has a majority of only five representatives.

This article appeared in The State Today and has been published here with permission.

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