Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Rep. George Santos accused of breaking campaign finance laws
By
Brigid Bergin
Published Jan 9, 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 .
Alex Brandon/AP/Shutterstock
By
Brigid Bergin
Published Jan 9, 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 finance watchdog organization has officially called on federal elections officials to investigate Rep. George Santos, the newly sworn in legislator for the 3rd District covering parts of Queens and Long Island. The complaint comes weeks after Santos admitted to a series of fabrications about his life story and experience during his campaign.
The nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center filed a 50-page complaint with the Federal Election Commission on Monday alleging the Santos campaign violated campaign finance laws by collecting donations through a straw donor scheme, intentionally violating mandatory disclosure requirements and misusing campaign money to pay for personal expenses, such as rent.
The potential FEC inquiry is yet another in a series of local and federal investigations into Santos’s conduct and comes while some constituents in his district repeatedly call for his resignation.
“In light of Santos’s mountain of lies about his life and qualifications for office, the Commission should thoroughly investigate what appear to be equally brazen lies about how his campaign raised and spent money,” the complaint said.
It cites reports in The New York Times that detail the numerous lies Santos told about his background including where he went to school, where he worked, his religion, as well as a report in Semafor about the sources of his sudden, newfound wealth.
In particular, the complaint focuses on the $705,000 loan Santos reported making to his campaign in the 2022 election cycle and questions how Santos had the funds to do that since his 2020 disclosure form only lists a $55,000 salary from LinkBridge Investors.
“His claims of having earned millions of dollars in 2021 and 2022 from a supposed consulting business that he started in May 2021, Devolder Organization LLC [Devolder LLC], are vague, uncorroborated, and non-credible in light of his many previous lies,” the complaint said.
A spokesperson for the FEC said the Commission has received the complaint. While the FEC can not comment on the substance of an investigation, their process requires the Commission to notify respondents within five days of receiving a proper complaint. Then respondents have 15 days to respond. A full investigation can take several weeks.
Penalties for violating campaign finance law can include monetary fines as well referrals to the U.S. Department of Justice for criminal violations.
Naysa Woomer, the communication director for Santos official congressional office, declined to comment on the complaint because it was a campaign matter. An email to his campaign was returned as undeliverable.
His attorney, Joe Murray, said he has not yet been contacted by any investigators.
Tagged
campaign finance
George Santos
long island
campaign finance laws
queens
Politics
news
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
Tompkins Square Park is getting a makeover. Some say it's too much.
Some regulars at the East Village park want to preserve its not-so-fancy offerings.
By
Willow Higgins
Published Oct 17, 2026 at 7:00 a.m. ET
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
Mid-October through mid-December is deer mating season, which can be a danger to drivers as the sex-seeking creatures cross roadways throughout the Garden State.
By
Rosemary Misdary
News
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
Mid-October through mid-December is deer mating season, which can be a danger to drivers as the sex-seeking creatures cross roadways throughout the Garden State.
By
Rosemary Misdary
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
By
Samantha Max
Inside the plan to fix the nearly collapsed Pfizer Building, 1/64th of an inch at a time
By
David Brand
School bus carrying autistic students got lost in Brooklyn for 4 hours last year
By
Jessica Gould
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 .