{"id":533013,"date":"2022-12-31T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-31T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/scrutiny-turns-to-george-santoss-campaign-funding\/"},"modified":"2022-12-31T14:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-12-31T11:00:00","slug":"scrutiny-turns-to-george-santoss-campaign-funding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/scrutiny-turns-to-george-santoss-campaign-funding\/","title":{"rendered":"#Scrutiny turns to George Santos\u2019s campaign funding"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3d8ac25b5a0\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3d8ac25b5a0\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/scrutiny-turns-to-george-santoss-campaign-funding\/#Scrutiny_turns_to_George_Santoss_campaign_funding\" >Scrutiny turns to George Santos\u2019s campaign funding<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Scrutiny_turns_to_George_Santoss_campaign_funding\"><\/span>Scrutiny turns to George Santos\u2019s campaign funding<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/GettyImages-1244905750-e1672371108205.jpg?w=900\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>As new revelations about\u00a0the\u00a0falsehoods\u00a0Rep.-elect George Santos (R-N.Y.)\u00a0has\u00a0told about his\u00a0background\u00a0continue to emerge, several peculiarities in the incoming congressman\u2019s finances are\u00a0facing heavy scrutiny \u2014 and could prove to be his greatest liability.<\/p>\n<p>Santos\u2019s\u00a0finances and financial disclosures are the subject of a federal investigation, reports revealed this week.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr1_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>\u201cGiven that much of Santos\u2019s biography has <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>arently been fabricated, it\u2019s possible the most troubling components of that fabrication \u2014 from a campaign finance perspective, anyway \u2014 have not yet been fully revealed,\u201d said Saurav Ghosh, the director of federal campaign finance reform for the Campaign Legal Center.<\/p>\n<p>Santos admitted on Monday to making several false claims about his educational and professional background in his campaign for Congress, after\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/12\/19\/nyregion\/george-santos-ny-republicans.html\">a New York Times report<\/a>\u00a0called into question the veracity of much of his r\u00e9sum\u00e9.<\/p>\n<p>Despite previous claims that he graduated from Baruch College and worked for both Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, Santos\u00a0told the New York Post\u00a0that he \u201cdidn\u2019t graduate from any institution of higher learning\u201d and \u201cnever worked directly\u201d with either firm.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA lot of people overstate in their r\u00e9sum\u00e9s, or twist a little bit,\u201d Santos said in an interview with local radio station WABC-AM. \u201cI\u2019m not saying I\u2019m not guilty of that, I\u2019m just saying, I\u2019ve done so much good work in my career. I\u2019m not a criminal who defrauded the entire country.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However,\u00a0the discrepancies in what Santos has said about his background\u00a0go beyond his r\u00e9sum\u00e9, according to recent reports.<\/p>\n<p>After previously claiming to be a \u201cproud American Jew\u201d whose maternal grandparents fled anti-Jewish persecution in Europe during World War II,\u00a0for instance, Santos told the New York Post on Monday that he identifies religiously as Catholic and that he \u201cnever claimed to be Jewish.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr2_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>The Nassau County, N.Y., district attorney on Wednesday announced an investigation into Santos over the false claims.<\/p>\n<p>And as questions continue to emerge about all aspects of Santos\u2019s background, his finances and financial disclosure filings\u00a0are also\u00a0reportedly\u00a0being\u00a0investigated by the U.S. attorney\u2019s office in the Eastern District of New York.<\/p>\n<p>One of most noticeable peculiarities in Santos\u2019s finances is his rapid accumulation of wealth before his run for Congress in 2022, said Jordan Libowitz, the communications director for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr3_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Santos provided his own campaign with a loan of $700,000, apparently from the $750,000 salary that he reported earning from his company, the Devolder Organization, in his\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/disclosures-clerk.house.gov\/public_disc\/financial-pdfs\/2022\/10050385.pdf\">most recent financial disclosure<\/a>. Santos also reported more than $1 million in dividends from Devolder.<\/p>\n<p>However, during his unsuccessful campaign for Congress just two years earlier, Santos\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/disclosures-clerk.house.gov\/public_disc\/financial-pdfs\/2020\/10035761.pdf\">reported<\/a>\u00a0having no assets and a salary of $55,000.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe went from essentially no money in 2020 to millions in 2022,\u201d Libowitz noted.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr4_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Santos\u2019s financial situation becomes murkier upon closer examination of his company. The incoming congressman created the Devolder Organization in May 2021, just weeks after his prior employer, Harbor City Capitol, was accused of running a Ponzi scheme by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Santos was not implicated in and has denied any knowledge of the scheme.<\/p>\n<p>It remains unclear what exactly Devolder is, as little information exists online about the company and Santos has given several different explanations as to its function. On his\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20211021044924\/https:\/georgeforny.com\/about\/\">campaign website in 2021<\/a>, Santos described the company as his \u201cfamily\u2019s firm\u201d and claimed to oversee assets worth $80 million\u00a0there.<\/p>\n<p>However, in an\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thedailybeast.com\/george-devolder-santos-maga-house-candidate-in-new-york-haunted-by-gig-at-alleged-ponzi-scheme?ref=scroll\">April interview with the Daily Beast<\/a>, Santos suggested that he created the Devolder Organization to help former Harbor City employees \u201cwho were left adrift.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On his 2022 financial disclosure form and in a\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.semafor.com\/article\/12\/28\/2022\/george-santos-tries-to-explain-his-wealth\">recent interview with Semafor<\/a>, Santos described Devolder as a capital introduction business that included \u201cdeal building\u201d and \u201cspecialty consulting\u201d for \u201chigh net worth individuals.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Santos also suggested to Semafor that the Devolder Organization explained his rapid accumulation of wealth,\u00a0saying\u00a0he \u201clanded a couple of million-dollar contracts\u201d within the company\u2019s first six months.<\/p>\n<p>The Devolder Organization was dissolved in September of this year for failing to file an annual report. However, after the Times\u2019s Dec. 19 report about Santos, the company was reinstated on Dec. 20, according to the\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/search.sunbiz.org\/Inquiry\/CorporationSearch\/EventHistory?aggregateId=flal-l21000206150-d2719327-f0cc-424e-8b6c-04026a110c67&amp;entityId=L21000206150&amp;CurrentPage=0&amp;SearchTerm=devolder&amp;InquiryType=EntityName&amp;inquiryDirectionType=CurrentList&amp;SearchNameOrder=DEVOLDERORGANIZATION%20L210002061500&amp;ListNameOrder=DEVOLDERLAWFIRM%20L160001128740\">Florida Department of State<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t know very much about this business that he said he created, made millions off of, then folded,\u201d Libowitz noted. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t seem to have had any footprints anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Libowitz and Ghosh both suggested there is a possibility the company was not legitimate and was used to get around campaign finance limits.<\/p>\n<p>While corporations and individual donors face strict limitations on how much they can contribute to campaigns, candidates can give an unlimited amount to themselves.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr5_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>\u201cIf that income wasn\u2019t bona fide and was actually part of a scheme to funnel money into and bankroll his campaign (which is possible though we do not know for certain just yet), that would constitute a brazen violation of federal campaign finance laws,\u201d Ghosh said.<\/p>\n<p>Despite\u00a0the backlash over the false claims about his background,\u00a0several calls for his resignation\u00a0and the multiple investigations he\u2019s facing<strong>,<\/strong>\u00a0Santos appears unlikely to step aside before he joins the ranks of Congress next week.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was an honor to tour the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point today,\u201d Santos said in a tweet on Wednesday. \u201cIn Congress, I look forward to working alongside them to fully utilize this amazing resource we have in our own backyard in #NY03.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. 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Santos\u2019s\u00a0finances and financial disclosures are the subject of a federal investigation, reports revealed this week. \u201cGiven that much&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":533014,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/12\/GettyImages-1244905750-e1672371108205.jpg?w=1280","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[134343,16450,70610,137726,90482,71525,115,4965],"class_list":["post-533013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-campaign","tag-equality","tag-finance","tag-george-santos","tag-house","tag-national-security","tag-news","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/533013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=533013"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/533013\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/533014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=533013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=533013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=533013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}