George Santos, elected representative in the USA, confessed to having committed fraud in Brazil

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Republican George Santos, 34, son of Brazilian parents elected deputy in the United States in November, confessed to committing an embezzlement in Niterói (RJ) in 2008. The confession took place in a statement to the Civil Police, two years after he became a defendant for the crime .

Santos was accused by a salesperson at a clothing store of impersonating “Délio” and paying R$2,144 with two bad checks for R$1,072 at the time. The information was published by the newspaper O Globo and confirmed by Sheet in the process before the Rio de Janeiro Court of Justice.

Délio was an 82-year-old man for whom Santos’ mother, then aged 19, worked as a nurse. She said she had the checkbook with her because the patient asked her to return it to the bank, as the account had been closed for a long time.

More than two years after the case, in November 2010, the accused admitted at the 77th police station (Icaraí) to having stolen the checks from his mother’s purse. The now deputy, then, would have signed the checks and impersonated the elderly man, who by then had already died. Even so, as he was never found later, the process ended up being suspended.

George Anthony Devolder Santos became the target of a series of questions since last Monday (19), when the American newspaper The New York Times published an article accusing the deputy elected by New York of having lied in several points of his resume.

Since then, the politician has not yet explained the disagreements about his past and his finances. THE Sheet Tried to contact him via social media but got no response. This Thursday (22), he broke his silence and promised that he will address doubts about his curriculum next week.

“I have my story to tell and it will be told next week. I want to assure everyone that I will address their concerns and that I remain committed to delivering the results I promised in my campaign,” he wrote in a Twitter post.

On the day the report was released, he only published a note attributed to his lawyer, Joseph Murray, who accused the newspaper: “It is not surprising that congressman-elect George Santos has enemies in the New York Times who try to smear his name with these statements defamatory”.

On Wednesday (21), the future leader of the minority in the Chamber, the Democrat Hakeem Jeffries, ironized that Santos would be in the “witness protection program”, after the deputy avoided the press during the week. “Nobody can find him,” Jeffries said. “He’s hiding from answering legitimate questions his constituents are raising about his background, his alleged philanthropy, about seemingly every aspect of his life.”

On Wednesday, The Forward, a Jewish publication, reported that Santos also may have lied to voters about his Jewish ancestry and saying his maternal grandmother fled persecution during World War II.

In Brazil, the lawsuit against him began because the salesperson at the clothing store was suspicious of Santos. He told the police that, as soon as the customer left the store, he decided to call the three telephone numbers written on the back of the checks, as well as go to the registered address, but could not be reached.

Days later, a man who identified himself as Thiago went to the establishment to exchange a sneaker he had received as a gift. The seller realized that that was the shoe he had sold to the supposed “Délio” and decided to follow him.

He then discovered that Thiago worked at a nearby store and, doing a search on Orkut, a very popular social network at the time, recognized the buyer in a profile with another name, “Anthony Devolder”. He printed photos of the suspect and filed a police report at the police station, which opened the investigation.

In a new deposition given a year after the case, in August 2009, the seller stated that Santos came to look for him through Orkut several times promising to reimburse the damage in installments, but that he never paid nor did he show up again.

According to the New York Times, the period in Brazil corresponds, in part, to the time when Santos said he was studying economics and finance at Baruch College, which found no records of his graduation in 2010.

In June of the following year, delegate Mário Luiz da Silva, then holder of the 77th DP, concluded the inquiry, indicting George Santos for embezzlement and asking for his preventive detention, later denied by the Justice.

Ten days later, the Public Ministry denounced him for the crime and, in September of that year, the 2nd Criminal Court of Niterói began the process. Santos, however, was never found and, in December 2013, accepting the MP’s request, the same court determined the suspension of the process, which can be resumed when he is found or constitute a lawyer to represent him.

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