Federal prosecutors reportedly filed criminal charges against freshman Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) on Tuesday.
The charges were filed under seal, according to CNN, so it was not immediately clear what crimes he is accused of committing. Questions, however, have been raised about how Santos financed his political campaign.
A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Numerous other accusations of criminal activity have swirled around the congressman, whose lies about his background left even some members of his own party calling for Santos’ resignation from Congress.
Santos seemed to learn of the charges from reporters, telling an Associated Press journalist who said she contacted him Tuesday afternoon: “That’s news to me. You’re the first to call me about this.”
Santos has been under investigation by the House Ethics Committee since early March in a widespread inquiry that — among other things — has looked into whether he “engaged in unlawful activity with respect to his 2022 congressional campaign.”
The investigation was also into whether he engaged in sexual misconduct toward a person seeking employment in his office.
Santos was elected last year to represent a Long Island district in Congress, helping Republicans to secure a narrow majority in the House of Representatives.
Shortly after he was elected, his background came under scrutiny when the New York Times published an article exposing fabrications about himself that he had built his campaign on.
Although Santos had claimed he attended New York University and graduated from Baruch College, he later admitted that he did not graduate from a college or graduate school.
He also admitted that he never worked directly for Citigroup or Goldman Sachs, as he had initially claimed.
This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
