The son of Brazilians elected in the United States will be investigated

Vice-elect George Santos lied about higher education and work at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs. Reports in the US press raise new questions and reveal that he is also being investigated in Brazil. Prosecutors from Long Island, New York State, USA, have begun investigating Jorge Santos, the son of Brazilian immigrants. In November, he admitted to the U.S. House of Representatives that he had lied about several points on his application during the campaign.

Santos, 34, has been the target of several resignation calls, even from members of his legendary Republican Party, who have questioned his fitness to hold office in the chamber. However, so far he has not expressed his intention to resign.

“The plethora of myths and inconsistencies surrounding Congressman-elect Santos is staggering,” said Republican Nassau County District Attorney Ann D. Donnelly said.

“Residents of Nassau County and the rest of the Third District deserve an honest and responsible representative in Congress,” he said. “No one is above the law, and if there is a crime in this county, it is within the law.”

Santos was elected by New York State’s 3rd District, which covers Queens and Long Island boroughs. On Monday, she admitted in two interviews that her resume “would have been pretty good.”

The “New York Times” exposed the lies

Santos admitted that he had never worked at Goldman Sachs or Citigroup and, contrary to earlier claims, did not even have a university degree.

In an interview with the New York Post, he rejected the possibility of stepping down before taking office on January 3, saying he was not a criminal.

If he is sworn in, he could face investigations by the House Ethics Committee and the Justice Department. The New York Attorney General’s Office is already looking into some of the issues related to Santos.

A New York Times (NYT) investigation published in mid-December uncovered a series of falsehoods about data that appeared on his application.

The newspaper revealed that the candidate lied about several pieces of information on his CV, such as his claim that he graduated from Baruch College in New York in 2010 with a degree in finance in addition to working at Citigroup Bank and Goldman. Sachs Investment Bank.

All three companies told the New York Times that they found no record of Santos in their data.

Get-rich-quick

The newspaper also cast doubt on the operation of Friends of United Animals, an animal welfare group founded by Republicans, and his financial consulting firm, DeWalter, who considers the organization “kind of a mystery.”

In a statement of accounts he presented to the House of Representatives in September, Santos guaranteed that the company paid him US$750,000 (almost R$4 million) in salary and between US$1 million and US$5 million in dividends.

But, according to the NYT, the form “contains no information about clients who contributed to such deposits, apparently violating the requirement to disclose compensation of more than $5,000 from a single source.”

Days after his election, Santos said in an interview that he had received the best education the United States had to offer and had built a “respectable career” in finance, which he now wanted to devote himself to. For public service.

A staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump, Santos portrayed himself as a non-traditional Republican candidate: young, born to a “poor family” in Queens, and gay. However, he said he rejects the labels, saying it “doesn’t lower voters’ taxes.”

Background of Brazil

The NYT also uncovered records that Santos was the subject of a criminal investigation in Brazil in 2008 for using stolen checks to buy items at a clothing store in Niterói. He was 19 years old then. According to the newspaper, the case did not progress as the accused never appeared in court.

He was also accused of lying about his Jewish ancestry – which could win him some votes in his region. In addition, there are questions about his seemingly quick fortune, despite recently experiencing some financial problems such as being the target of eviction notices and owing thousands of dollars in back rent.

In the November elections, Santos defeated Democrat Robert Zimmerman, who even denounced the lies of the Brazilians’ son, but could not inflict damage on the Republican campaign. After publication in the press, the defeated candidate declared Santos unfit to hold the position and demanded his resignation to allow for new district elections.

rc/lf (Lusa, AFP, AP)

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