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George Santos agrees to confess and pay damages in Brazil case where is accused of spending money with stolen checkbook
Rep. George Santos has reportedly agreed to confess and pay damages in a Brazilian fraud case where the congressman is accused of defrauding a Rio De Janeiro clerk of $1,300 spent on clothes and shoes.
Prosecutors agreed to Santos’ plea deal last week after they asked Santos’ attorneys to assure them they have the ability to contact the victim and repay him before the deal is finalized, according to CNN.
The criminal case had been until recently suspended for nearly 10 years after authorities in Rio de Janeiro failed to locate Santos.
The embattled New York Republican is accused of using a stolen checkbook to spend money under a false name. It reportedly occurred at a clothing store in the Brazilian city of Niterói.
After the 2008 incident, Santos reportedly came clean on a Brazilian social media website the following year, writing: ‘I know I screwed up, but I want to pay.’
But fast-forward to 2022, the incoming member of Congress told the New York Post that he has never committed any crimes.
‘I am not a criminal here — not here or in Brazil or any jurisdiction in the world,’ Santos said.
Santos is accused of using a stolen checkbook to spend money under a false name. It reportedly occurred at a clothing store in the Brazilian city of Niterói
As of earlier this month Santos is now alleged to have been the mastermind behind an ATM fraud involving a former roommate who has since written to the FBI about the scam.
The latest scandal relates to an identity theft con that took place in Washington state in 2017.
Gustavo Ribeiro Trelha, who was convicted of credit card fraud in the case, wrote a letter submitted to the FBI Wednesday calling Santos – aka Anthony Devolder – the the brains behind the crime. It saw devices fitted to ATMs which copied customers card details, allowing Trelha – and allegedly Santos – to drain those accounts.
Santos in 2017 spoke to a judge in King County in support of Trelha, whom he referred to as a ‘family friend.’ That’s when the New York Republican told the judge his infamous lie about working for Goldman Sachs, according to Politico. He also said he was ‘an aspiring politician.’
Gustavo Ribeiro Trelha (pictured right), who was convicted of credit card fraud in the case, wrote a letter that was submitted to the FBI Wednesday calling Santos (pictured left) – aka Anthony Devolder – the person in charge of the crime
