Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
George Santos campaign staffer indicted in fundraising scheme
By
Brigid Bergin
Published Aug 16, 2023
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Getty Images
By
Brigid Bergin
Published Aug 16, 2023
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
A campaign aide who raised money for Rep. George Santos by pretending to be a high-ranking House staffer was charged with wire fraud and identity theft, according to an indictment unsealed in federal court on Wednesday.
Samuel Miele, the campaign aide, was arraigned in the Eastern District courtroom in Brooklyn and released on a $150,000 bond. He has pleaded not guilty.
While Santos is not identified in the charging document, prosecutors also submitted a letter to the court indicating that the case against Miele is related to the ongoing federal prosecution against Santos.
Santos, a Republican who represents parts of Queens and Long Island, was charged in a 13 count indictment in May with embezzling campaign funds and lying on federal financial disclosure forms. He pleaded not guilty at the time.
Miele's attorney Kevin Marino said his client “looks forward to complete vindication at trial as soon as possible.”
Santos' attorney Joseph Murray did not immediately respond to Gothamist’s request for comment.
Miele worked as a fundraiser for Santos in the 2020 and 2022 election cycles. Prosecutors allege he created a fake email address and made calls to a dozen potential donors using another person’s name, only identified in the indictment as “Person No. 1.”
The New York Times has previously reported that Miele contacted donors pretending to be a senior staffer to then-House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
For the donations Miele was able to raise, the money was transferred through an intermediary to the campaign’s bank account located in Suffolk County, where the Santos campaign had its account. Miele also received a commission of 15% of each donation when his solicitations were successful.
According to the indictment, Miele told Santos in a letter that he was "faking my identity to a big donor," but that he was "high risk, high reward in everything I do.”
Tagged
corruption
queens
George Santos
Politics
Brigid Bergin
Brigid Bergin is an award-winning senior reporter on the People and Power desk. She is fiercely committed to telling stories that help people engage and support democracy. In 2022, she hosted a live, ten-week call-in politics show ahead of the midterm elections called The People's Guide to Power. Brigid's reporting in 2017 included some of the first coverage of a political newcomer now known as AOC. In 2016, she broke the news of a voter purge in Brooklyn just days before New York’s presidential primary, triggering city, state and federal investigations. Brigid also guest hosts The Brian Lehrer Show and All Of It. She graduated from the University at Albany and the CUNY Newmark School of Journalism. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 917-723-4719.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
The American Chestnut tree returns to the Bronx Zoo after more than a century
The Bronx Zoo is getting 25 blight-resistant chestnut saplings as part of the effort to bring the tree back from extinction.
By
Rosemary Misdary
Published Oct 5, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. ET
2 people died in car crashes in Queens and Brooklyn in less than 1 day, NYPD says
A hit-and-run on Monday claimed the life of a 62-year-old man and an accident involving an impaired driver on Sunday left a 23-year-old woman dead.
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
News
2 people died in car crashes in Queens and Brooklyn in less than 1 day, NYPD says
A hit-and-run on Monday claimed the life of a 62-year-old man and an accident involving an impaired driver on Sunday left a 23-year-old woman dead.
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Mamdani will clear 10,000 families off waitlist for low-cost childcare
By
Karen Yi
In wake of Legionnaires' outbreaks, a debate over NYC's water and industry influence
By
Joe Hong
New York state stockpiled abortion pills. Now they're all expired.
By
Jon Campbell
and
David Lombardo
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .