New York’s new Congressman representing their 3rd district, George Santos, has turned out to not be the real person they chose to represent them. Santos, ever since his election win, has been found to have lied about his entire background and campaign. What did he specifically lie about? Before you read the following lies (in no specific order), I suggest grabbing a couple waters and some snacks, because it’s going to take a while. (List based on Intelligencer.com’s article)
Lie #1: He attended Horace Mann School
Yes, he lied where he went to high school. How low can somebody go? After stating multiple times on the campaign trail that he attended the private school, he also mentioned he dropped out in his senior year due to his parent’s financial troubles during the 2008 depression. Investigators found records that Santos received a high school equivalency diploma.
Lie #2: He attended Baruch College and NYU, and was he a volleyball star
I’m not surprised that he lied about his college after already going so low with his supposed high school. Santos stated once in his campaign that he graduated from Baruch College with a degree in Finance and Economics in 2010, which would mean he would’ve only spent two years at college in a four-year program after falsely claiming he graduated high school in 2008. Other lies on this topic include how he bragged to the GOP House Chair that he was a volleyball star for Baruch and even said he spent some time with NYU. Both universities have stated that they have no record of him attending the school. False, false, false.
Lie #3: He worked on Wall Street!
Surprise! He’s probably never even walked on Wall Street, nonetheless worked there. Santos said he worked at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, but there’s absolutely no records of that.
Lie #4: His campaign funds were correctly documented
Santos’ campaign funds include a bunch of “loans” that turned out not to be loans. A Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics spokesperson said, “I have never been this confused looking at an F.E.C. filing.” Let’s just say his money wasn’t legit at all with fraudulent checks and false titles.
Lie #5: He founded an animal charity
Santos claimed he created an organization named Friends of Pets United, which was based in New York and New Jersey. Shockingly, there were no IRS records, no social media, and no evidence of it being registered in those states. They were reported to have held one event, which of course was a fundraiser, charging $50 for entry. The New York Times has also recently reported that Santos took checks originally to the charity and put them into his false name, Anthony Devolder.
Lie #6: He definitely didn’t steal money from a veteran
A veteran whose dog was dying needed financial support, so he was referred to ‘Anthony Devolder’, a.k.a. Santos, to raise money. They started a GoFundMe page, but months after the dog’s death, the veteran had yet to receive the money. Over $3,000 was stolen. The FBI is currently investigating.
Lie #7: He never ever ripped off a dog breeder
He didn’t necessarily rip off a dog breeder, but more like dog breeders… eight actually. Santos was running events claiming people were rescuing puppies, but they were actually specially bred dogs. In fact, there was another scam behind that scam. He didn’t even pay the breeders themselves. He wrote the checks and then canceled them before they could get processed. He was formally charged for these actions, but he won after claiming someone stole his checkbook.
Lie #8: He’s married to his husband
After being elected as the first openly-gay Republican that wasn’t an incumbent, Santos had yet another controversy. His campaign website stated that he lived in Long Island with his husband and 4 dogs, but marriage records to a man were never found. Investigators found he was actually married to a woman from 2012-2019, which ended in divorce. Additionally, in 2014, while still legally married to the woman, he invited friends via Facebook to his engagement party with his boyfriend. His then-boyfriend told a reporter that the party never actually occurred, because he declined Santos’ marriage proposal.
Lie #9: His mother was killed on 9/11
Santos claimed last summer that his mother was in the south tower of the World Trade Center on that infamous day and escaped in time, but she then died “battling cancer a few years later.” There was no record that she was there on that day. Contradictory to those claims, there are records that his mother was actually in Brazil for that whole month in 2001. Furthermore, her death occurred 15 years after the terrorist attack, which is a timeframe almost no one refers to as “a few years,” thus linking blame a little less believable.
Lie #10: His grandmother survived the Holocaust
In a podcast on the campaign trail, Santos continued crossing many ethical boundaries by claiming his grandfather and grandmother “survived the Holocaust.” His website bio also stated that they “fled persecution in WWII.” On Fox News, Santos claimed he had Ukrainian blood from his mother’s side of the family tree and defended it by saying, “... a lot of names and paperwork were changed in name of survival.” After multiple genealogy experts reported that there was no evidence of his family ever being linked to Ukraine, they then stated that his family is mostly from Brazil. Records were then released showing his grandparents were born in Brazil. Even with all of that, Santos still had the self-superiority to speak on the U.S. House floor about that time on Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Lie #11: He lost four employees in the Pulse shooting
The New York Congressman, even after the election was over, still wanted to play the part of the world’s greatest and most relatable victim by commenting that he had four employees that were killed in the Orlando shooting in 2016 that claimed 49 lives. Of those 49 people, none of them were found to have ever worked for any of Santos’ organizations he’s ever named.
Lie #12: He’s Jewish (or Jew-ish)
Santos, after being fact-checked for saying he was Jewish, claimed that he previously said he was ‘Jew-ish’ due to his being a Roman Catholic. Additionally, the priest of his church even said his family attended a good amount. His former roommate told numerous outlets that Santos would make multiple anti-Semetic jokes, and several of these tweets have come out showing obvious criticism to that specific group.
Lie #13: He was not a drag queen in Brazil
A friend of his in Brazil said Santos regularly participated in drag queen pageants in Rio de Janiero in 2005. After a couple weeks, he regretfully accepted it since the Republican party is known nationally for their majority stance against rights of the LGBTQ+ citizens. A short story inside this one is that his friend also commented that he supported a candidate for President of Brazil who we have found was a leftist. Which could possibly lead to another question: Is he actually a Republican?
Lie #14: He was on Hanna Montana
Under his alias name, Anthony Devolder, on Wikipedia, it stated that he landed roles on Hanna Montana and Suite Life of Zach & Cody. It also says he got a larger role in a movie named The Invasion starring Uma Thurman, even though Thurman has never appeared in a film named that.
Lie #15: He was a producer on broadway
Santos claimed he helped produce Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark in 2011. If this were true, he would also have been a volleyball star for Baruch College at the same time, so this doesn’t really sound right.
Lie #16: He was a journalist in Brazil
A former roommate claimed that back in 2013 he worked for big Brazilian media, Globo. At one point he said he was an executive. The director-general of journalism said that was a, “lie, pure and simple.”
Lie #17: His campaign was clean and fair
A Santos campaign employee reportedly impersonated Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s chief of staff in order to raise more money. Allegedly, staff members charged credit cards to an anonymous account without their permission at fundraisers.
Lie #18: Someone attempted an assassination on him post-election
On a podcast, he told the hosts that, “we have already suffered an attempt on my life: an assassination.” He also described a mugging in the summer of 2021 where the alleged thief took his shoes, watch, and briefcase. His office refused to give a police report for either instance.
Has Santos ever told something truthful??
It’s true that he is indeed 34 years-old and was born in Queens, New York… as far as we know. And yes, that’s it.
He’s being investigated … a lot
The New York Attorney General’s office, Nassau County district attorney, and the Eastern District of New York’s federal prosecutors are all investigating Santos for his finances, especially during the campaign. Two fellow New York representatives filed an official complaint to the U.S. Ethics Committee for his finances, a sexual harassment accusation, all while a California congressman announced a bill that would officially expel Santos from the House. In Brazil, he has a trial for fraud due to fraudulent checks being used while living in Brazil. If he does not show up to his case, it will still happen, and he could face up to 5 years in jail. The Ethics Committee could also investigate his marriage to a woman who was from Brazil in order for her to get U.S. citizenship, a crime that can hold up to 5 years in prison. With the evidence he dated other people at the time, that’s not looking good either. Finally, the FBI is still investigating the $3,000 scam on the veteran who needed money for the surgery of his dog. (Note: While I was writing this, The U.S. House Ethics Committee annouced they are launching an investigation on Santos for breaking campaign finance laws).
All sides of the political spectrum dislike him
While obviously all Democrats and Independents have called on Santos to resign, many Republicans have also admirably joined in, putting country over party as it should be. The county GOP Chair said that he, “has no place” in public service. Almost every call to resign, Santos has ignored. The Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy, needs every Republican in the House, so he has yet to speak out against Santos, which is disappointing. Santos has stepped down from his committee assignments of Small Business and Science, but his name is still on Capitol Hill. Moderate Republican Senator from Utah, and 2012 Republican Nominee for President, told Santos to his face that he didn’t belong there on camera. So, let’s just say he’s not making many friends in D.C.
Final thoughts
After everything you just read, do you think that this person should represent hundreds of thousands of citizens in the U.S. House? I think not. George Santos is an embarrassment to the United States across the globe. The fact he lied about his entire biography and is still in office is unbelievable. Who knows if a pathological liar like Santos will ever leave? If you feel so compelled, you can click here to sign an online petition, along with almost 150,000 others, to call on Representative Santos to resign from his position because no one like him ever deserves to even take a step near the Capitol building.
- Jacob Francy
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