New York Republican George Santos’s Résumé Called Into Question - The New York Times

George Santos, whose predetermination to Congress connected Long Island past period helped Republicans clinch a constrictive bulk successful the House of Representatives, built his candidacy connected the conception that helium was the “full embodiment of the American dream” and was moving to safeguard it for others.

His run biography amplified his storybook journey: He is the lad of Brazilian immigrants, and the archetypal openly cheery Republican to triumph a House spot arsenic a non-incumbent. By his account, helium catapulted himself from a New York City nationalist assemblage to go a “seasoned Wall Street financier and investor” with a family-owned existent property portfolio of 13 properties and an carnal rescue foundation that saved much than 2,500 dogs and cats.

But a New York Times reappraisal of nationalist documents and tribunal filings from the United States and Brazil, arsenic good arsenic assorted attempts to verify claims that Mr. Santos, 34, made connected the run trail, calls into question cardinal parts of the résumé that helium sold to voters.

Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, the marquee Wall Street firms connected Mr. Santos’s run biography, told The Times they had nary grounds of his ever moving there. Officials astatine Baruch College, which Mr. Santos has said helium graduated from successful 2010, could find nary grounds of anyone matching his sanction and day of commencement graduating that year.

There was besides small grounds that his carnal rescue group, Friends of Pets United, was, arsenic Mr. Santos claimed, a tax-exempt organization: The Internal Revenue Service could find nary grounds of a registered foundation with that name.

His fiscal disclosure forms suggest a beingness of immoderate wealth. He lent his run much than $700,000 during the midterm election, has donated thousands of dollars to different candidates successful the past 2 years and reported a $750,000 wage and implicit $1 cardinal successful dividends from his company, the Devolder Organization.

Yet the firm, which has nary nationalist website oregon LinkedIn page, is thing of a mystery. On a run website, Mr. Santos erstwhile described Devolder as his “family’s firm” that managed $80 cardinal successful assets. On his legislature fiscal disclosure, helium described it arsenic a superior instauration consulting company, a benignant of boutique steadfast that serves arsenic a liaison betwixt concern funds and deep-pocketed investors. But Mr. Santos’s disclosures did not uncover immoderate clients, an omission 3 predetermination instrumentality experts said could beryllium problematic if specified clients exist.

And portion Mr. Santos has described a household luck successful existent estate, helium has not disclosed, nor could The Times find, records of his properties.

Mr. Santos’s eight-point victory, successful a territory successful bluish Long Island and northeast Queens that antecedently favored Democrats, was considered a mild upset. He had mislaid decisively successful the aforesaid territory successful 2020 to Tom Suozzi, past the Democratic incumbent, and had seemed to beryllium excessively wedded to erstwhile President Donald J. Trump and his stances to flip his fortunes.

His quality earlier this period astatine a gala successful Manhattan attended by achromatic nationalists and right-wing conspiracy theorists underscored his ties to Mr. Trump’s right-wing base.

At the aforesaid time, caller revelations uncovered by The Times — including the omission of cardinal accusation connected Mr. Santos’s idiosyncratic fiscal disclosures, and transgression charges for cheque fraud successful Brazil — person the imaginable to make ethical and perchance ineligible challenges erstwhile helium takes office.

Mr. Santos did not respond to repeated requests from The Times that helium furnish either documents oregon a résumé with dates that would assistance to substantiate the claims helium made connected the run trail. He besides declined to beryllium interviewed, and neither his lawyer nor Big Dog Strategies, a Republican-oriented governmental consulting radical that handles situation management, responded to a elaborate database of questions.

The lawyer, Joe Murray, said successful a abbreviated connection that it was “no astonishment that Congressman-elect Santos has enemies astatine The New York Times who are attempting to smear his bully sanction with these defamatory allegations.”

A transgression lawsuit successful Brazil

Mr. Santos has said helium was calved successful Queens to parents who emigrated from Brazil and was raised successful the borough. His father, helium has said, is Catholic and has roots successful Angola. His mother, Fatima Devolder, was descended from migrants who fled Jewish persecution successful Ukraine and World War II strife successful Belgium. Mr. Santos has described himself arsenic a nonobservant Jew but has besides said he is Catholic.

Records amusement that Mr. Santos’s mother, who died successful 2016, lived for a clip successful the Brazilian metropolis of Niterói, a Rio suburb wherever she was employed arsenic a nurse. After Mr. Santos obtained a precocious schoolhouse equivalency diploma, helium seemingly besides spent immoderate clip there.

In 2008, erstwhile Mr. Santos was 19, helium stole the checkbook of a antheral his parent was caring for, according to Brazilian tribunal records uncovered by The Times. Police and tribunal records amusement that Mr. Santos utilized the checkbook to marque fraudulent purchases, including a brace of shoes. Two years later, Mr. Santos confessed to the transgression and was aboriginal charged.

The tribunal and section authoritative successful Brazil confirmed the lawsuit remains unresolved. Mr. Santos did not respond to an authoritative summons, and a tribunal typical could not find him astatine his fixed address, records show.

That play successful Brazil overlapped with erstwhile Mr. Santos said helium was attending Baruch College, wherever helium has said helium was awarded a bachelor’s grade successful economics and finance. But Baruch College said it was incapable to find records of Mr. Santos — utilizing aggregate variations of his first, mediate and past names — having graduated successful 2010, arsenic helium has claimed.

A biography of Mr. Santos connected the website of the National Republican Congressional Committee, which is the House Republicans’ run arm, besides includes a stint astatine New York University. The assertion is not repeated elsewhere, and an N.Y.U. spokesperson recovered nary attendance records matching his sanction and commencement date.

After helium said helium graduated from college, Mr. Santos began moving astatine Citigroup, yet becoming “an subordinate plus manager” successful the company’s existent property division, according to a mentation of his biography that was connected his run tract as precocious arsenic April.

A spokeswoman for Citigroup, Danielle Romero-Apsilos, said the institution could not corroborate Mr. Santos’s employment. She besides said she was unfamiliar with Mr. Santos’s self-described occupation rubric and noted that Citi had sold disconnected its plus absorption operations successful 2005.

A erstwhile run biography of Mr. Santos indicates that helium near Citi to enactment astatine a Turkey-based hospitality exertion company, MetGlobal, and different profiles notation a little relation astatine Goldman Sachs. MetGlobal executives could not beryllium reached for comment. Abbey Collins, a spokeswoman astatine Goldman Sachs, said she could not find immoderate grounds of Mr. Santos’s having worked astatine the company.

Attempts to find co-workers who could corroborate his employment were unsuccessful, successful portion due to the fact that Mr. Santos has not provided circumstantial dates for his clip astatine these companies.

He has besides asserted that his nonrecreational beingness had intersected with tragedy: He said successful an interrogation connected WNYC that his company, which helium did not identify, “lost 4 employees” astatine the Pulse nightclub shooting successful Orlando successful June 2016. But a Times reappraisal of quality sum and obituaries recovered that nary of the 49 victims look to person worked astatine the assorted firms named successful his biography.

After 2 evictions, a reversal of fortunes

As helium was purportedly climbing the firm ranks, Mr. Santos claimed to person founded Friends of Pets United, which helium ran for 5 years opening successful 2013. As a candidate, helium cited the radical arsenic impervious of a past of philanthropic work.

Though remnants of the radical and its efforts could beryllium recovered connected Facebook, the I.R.S. was not capable to find immoderate grounds showing that the radical held the tax-exempt presumption that Mr. Santos claimed. Neither the New York nor New Jersey lawyer general’s offices could find records of Friends of Pets United having been registered arsenic a charity.

Friends of Pets United held astatine slightest 1 fund-raiser with a New Jersey carnal rescue radical successful 2017; the invitation promised drinks, donated raffle items and a unrecorded band. Mr. Santos charged $50 for entry, according to an online fund-raising leafage that promoted the event. But the event’s beneficiary, who asked for anonymity for fearfulness of retribution, said that she ne'er received immoderate of the funds, with Mr. Santos lone offering repeated excuses for not forwarding the money.

During that aforesaid period, Mr. Santos was besides facing evident fiscal difficulties. In November 2015, a landlord successful the Whitestone vicinity of Queens filed an eviction suit successful lodging tribunal accusing Mr. Santos of owing $2,250 successful unpaid rent.

The landlord, Maria Tulumba, said successful an interrogation that Mr. Santos had been a “nice guy” and a “respectful” tenant. But she said that helium had fiscal problems that led to the eviction case, declining to elaborate further. The justice ruled successful favour of Ms. Tulumba.

In May 2017, Mr. Santos faced different eviction case, from a rent-stabilized flat successful Sunnyside, Queens. Mr. Santos’s landlord accused him of owing much than $10,000 successful rent stretching implicit 5 months and said successful tribunal records that 1 of his tenant’s checks had bounced. A warrant of eviction was issued, and Mr. Santos was fined $12,208 successful a civilian judgment.

By aboriginal 2021, Mr. Santos was becoming vocal connected lodging issues but not from a tenant perspective. During New York’s pandemic-era eviction moratorium, Mr. Santos said on Twitter that helium was a landlord affected by the freeze.

“Will we landlords ever beryllium capable to instrumentality backmost possession of our property?” helium wrote.

Mr. Santos said that helium and his household had not been paid rent connected their 13 properties successful astir a year, adding that helium had offered rental assistance to immoderate tenants, but recovered that immoderate were “flat retired taking vantage of the situation.”

But Mr. Santos has not listed properties successful New York connected required fiscal disclosure forms for either of his campaigns; the lone existent property that helium mentioned was an flat successful Rio de Janeiro. Property records databases successful New York City and Nassau County did not amusement immoderate documents oregon deeds associated with him, contiguous household members oregon the Devolder Organization.

It is unclear what mightiness person led to Mr. Santos’s evident reversal successful fortunes. By the clip helium launched his archetypal tally for the House, successful November 2019, Mr. Santos was moving successful concern improvement astatine a institution called LinkBridge Investors that says it connects investors with money managers.

Mr. Santos yet became a vice president there, according to a institution papers and a May 2020 run disclosure signifier wherever helium declared net of $55,000 successful salary, committee and bonuses.

Harbor City, which attracted investors with YouTube videos and guarantees of double-digit returns, soon garnered attraction from the S.E.C., which filed a suit accusing the institution and its laminitis of running a $17 cardinal Ponzi scheme. Neither Mr. Santos nor different colleagues were named successful the lawsuit, and Mr. Santos has publically denied having immoderate cognition of the scheme.

Two weeks later, a fistful of erstwhile Harbor City executives formed a institution called Red Strategies USA, as reported by The Daily Beast. Corporate filings listed the Devolder Organization arsenic a partial proprietor — adjacent though the papers to registry Devolder would not beryllium filed for different week.

Red Strategies was abbreviated lived: Federal run records amusement it did governmental consulting enactment for astatine slightest 1 person — Tina Forte, a Republican who unsuccessfully challenged Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez successful November — earlier it was dissolved successful September for failing to record an yearly report.

The Devolder Organization seems to person flourished arsenic Mr. Santos ran for office. According to Mr. Santos’s disclosures, his enactment determination earned him a wage of $750,000. By the clip it excessively was dissolved — besides for failing to record an yearly study — Mr. Santos reported that it was worthy much than a cardinal dollars.

A November triumph raises caller questions

Mr. Santos announced his intent to marque a 2nd tally astatine Congress almost immediately aft the extremity of his first. He figured to again beryllium an underdog successful the district, which mostly favored President Biden successful 2020.

But things began to plaything successful his favor. Republicans successful Nassau performed good successful section elections successful 2021. Mr. Suozzi opted to not tally for re-election successful 2022, alternatively launching an unsuccessful bid for governor. And with precocious turnout expected successful a midterm predetermination that besides featured a governor’s race, Mr. Santos’s contention became much competitory — and his run stance became much tempered.

During his archetypal campaign, Mr. Santos, an adherent of Mr. Trump, opposed disguise mandates and abortion access, and defended instrumentality enforcement against what helium called the “made-up concept” of constabulary brutality.

But during his 2nd campaign, older posts connected Twitter were abruptly deleted, including his claims of predetermination fraud that helium said outgo Mr. Trump the predetermination successful 2020. In March 2021, helium resurfaced the claim, penning connected Twitter successful a since-deleted post, “My caller run squad has 4 erstwhile loyal Trump staffers that pushed him implicit the decorativeness enactment TWICE, yes I said TWICE!”

Mr. Santos besides concisely claimed without grounds successful different since-deleted tweet that helium had been a unfortunate of fraud successful his archetypal legislature race, astatine 1 constituent utilizing the hashtag #StopTheSteal, a notation to a slogan associated with Mr. Trump’s mendacious predetermination claims.

And portion helium antecedently boasted that helium attended the Jan. 6 rally (but, helium has said, not the riot) successful enactment of Mr. Trump successful Washington, helium has since ducked questions astir his attendance and a prior claim that helium had written “a bully cheque for a instrumentality firm” to assistance immoderate rioters with their ineligible bills.

Mr. Santos’s improved circumstances are evident connected the authoritative fiscal disclosure signifier helium filed successful September with the House of Representatives, though the papers inactive leaves questions astir his finances.

In the disclosure, Mr. Santos said that helium was the Devolder Organization’s sole proprietor and managing member. He reported that the company, which is based successful New York but was registered successful Florida, paid him a $750,000 salary. He besides earned dividends from Devolder totaling determination betwixt $1 cardinal and $5 cardinal — adjacent though Devolder’s estimated worth was listed successful the aforesaid range.

The Devolder Organization has nary public-facing assets oregon different spot that The Times could locate. Mr. Santos’s disclosure signifier did not supply accusation astir clients that would person contributed to specified a haul — a seeming usurpation of the request to disclose immoderate compensation successful excess of $5,000 from a azygous source.

Kedric Payne, the vice president of the watchdog Campaign Legal Center, and a erstwhile lawman main counsel for the Office of Congressional Ethics, was 1 of 3 predetermination instrumentality experts consulted by The Times who took contented with the deficiency of detail.

“This study raises reddish flags due to the fact that nary clients are reported for a multimillion-dollar lawsuit services company,” Mr. Payne said, adding: “The congressman-elect should explicate what’s going on.”

The Times attempted to interrogation Mr. Santos astatine the code wherever helium is registered to ballot and that was associated with a run donation helium made successful October, but a idiosyncratic astatine that code said connected Sunday that she was not acquainted with him.

Material omissions oregon misrepresentations connected idiosyncratic fiscal disclosures are considered a national transgression nether the False Statements Act, which carries a maximum punishment of $250,000 and 5 years successful prison. But the barroom for these cases is high, fixed that the statute requires violations to beryllium “knowing and willful.”

The House of Representatives has respective interior mechanisms for investigating morals violations, issuing civilian oregon administrative penalties erstwhile it does. Those bodies thin to enactment mostly successful egregious cases, peculiarly if the behaviour took spot earlier the subordinate was inaugurated.

Campaign disclosures amusement that Mr. Santos lived ample arsenic a candidate, buying shirts for his unit from Brooks Brothers and charging the run for meals astatine the edifice wrong Bergdorf Goodman.

Mr. Santos besides spent a sizeable magnitude of wealth traveling — charging his run astir $40,000 successful flights to places that included California, Texas and Florida. All told, Mr. Santos spent much than $17,000 successful Florida, mostly connected restaurants and hotels, including astatine slightest 1 evening astatine the Breakers, a five-star edifice and edifice successful Palm Beach, 3 miles up the roadworthy from Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump’s backstage nine and residence.

Manuela Andreoni contributed reporting from Rio de Janeiro, Jay Root contributed reporting from Albany, N.Y., and Susan C. Beachy contributed research.