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County, State and Federal probes into Santos's actions.

A Republican congressman-elect is under investigation in New York after he admitted he lied about his education and work experience.

The Republican district attorney for Nassau County said she will look into the "numerous fabrications and inconsistencies" on George Santos's CV.
.
Allegations about discrepancies in his backstory were first made in a New York Times report last week.
Mr Santos is scheduled to be sworn in on 3 January. The newspaper published an investigation this month alleging Mr Santos - who was elected to Congress in the November midterm elections - had made several lies on his resume. Those included that he had graduated from Baruch College in New York and worked at high-profile Wall Street firms Goldman Sachs and Citigroup.

Mr Santos admitted earlier this week he had never worked for either firm directly and had lied on his CV about graduating from college, saying he was "embarrassed" that he had not. ...

In one tweet in July 2021, Mr Santos said "9/11 claimed my mother's life."

In another post months later, he wrote: "December 23rd this year marks 5 years I lost my best friend and mentor," referring to his mother.

Mr Santos's campaign website says his mother was in her office in the South Tower, the original 2 World Trade Center, on 11 September 2001, but survived and died of cancer several years later. ...

On Wednesday, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said residents of Mr Santos's congressional district in New York "must have an honest and accountable representative in Congress".

No one "is above the law and if a crime was committed in this county, we will prosecute it".

Prosecutors with the US attorney's office in the Eastern District of New York have also launched a separate federal probe, a source told BBC's US partner CBS News, as well as other US media. CBS reported that they are looking into his finances and financial disclosures. ABC News reported it was not yet a "formal investigation".

US media outlets have also reported New York Attorney General Letitia James was "looking into" some of the issues raised about Mr Santos. ...

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64113239

Update.

And a new article by The New York Times, published on Monday, shows that former friends and colleagues say Santos, 34, has been weaving a fictional narrative about his life for years.

Pedro Vilarva, who met Santos in 2014, dated the embattled politician for a few months before they moved in together, per The Times.

Vilarva said that Santos, elected in November to represent a Long Island district, who he found "charming and sweet," rarely contributed to bills.

"He used to say he would get money from Citigroup, he was an investor," said Vilarva, per The Times. "One day it's one thing, one day it's another thing. He never ever actually went to work."

In 2015, Vilarva said that Santos surprised him with plane tickets to Hawaii. However, the tickets did not exist, The Times said. The newspaper reported that at a similar time, Vilarva noticed that his cell phone had gone missing.

He said he believed that Santos stole it and pawned it, per The Times.

After these incidents, Vilarva told the newspaper that he searched Santos' name online and discovered that Brazilian police wanted him.

In 2008, The Times reported that Santos, then 19, was accused of stealing a checkbook of the man his mother was caring for.

Citing Brazilian court records, the newspaper said that Santos used the checkbook to make fraudulent purchases. Two years later, The Times said, he confessed to the crime and was charged, but the case remains unresolved.

This revelation was the breaking point for Santos' ex-boyfriend, he told the newspaper. "I woke up in the morning, and I packed my stuff all in trash bags, and I called my father, and I left," he said.

Vilarva told The Times he was gullible for believing Santos, who was elected in November, and added that he is worried about the impact the politician's apparent propensity for lying could have if he becomes — and remains — an elected official.

"I would be scared to have someone like that in charge — having so much power in his hands," he said, per The Times.

https://news.yahoo.com/ex-boyfriend-accuses-george-santos-123508950.html
 
No one has come up with an answer for what is demonstrably the most important question - where did he get the $700,000 he used to finance his campaign for office? Where does anyone come up with that amount of funds? This (and possibly fraudulently obtaining employment) is what pushes the entire mess into the criminal justice area. And this is why in the US at least there are laws requiring disclosure of where election money comes from. You don't want to inadvertently elect someone who is beholden to say organized crime.
 
Update.

And a new article by The New York Times, published on Monday, shows that former friends and colleagues say Santos, 34, has been weaving a fictional narrative about his life for years.

Pedro Vilarva, who met Santos in 2014, dated the embattled politician for a few months before they moved in together, per The Times.

Vilarva said that Santos, elected in November to represent a Long Island district, who he found "charming and sweet," rarely contributed to bills.

"He used to say he would get money from Citigroup, he was an investor," said Vilarva, per The Times. "One day it's one thing, one day it's another thing. He never ever actually went to work."

In 2015, Vilarva said that Santos surprised him with plane tickets to Hawaii. However, the tickets did not exist, The Times said. The newspaper reported that at a similar time, Vilarva noticed that his cell phone had gone missing.

He said he believed that Santos stole it and pawned it, per The Times.

After these incidents, Vilarva told the newspaper that he searched Santos' name online and discovered that Brazilian police wanted him.

In 2008, The Times reported that Santos, then 19, was accused of stealing a checkbook of the man his mother was caring for.

Citing Brazilian court records, the newspaper said that Santos used the checkbook to make fraudulent purchases. Two years later, The Times said, he confessed to the crime and was charged, but the case remains unresolved.

This revelation was the breaking point for Santos' ex-boyfriend, he told the newspaper. "I woke up in the morning, and I packed my stuff all in trash bags, and I called my father, and I left," he said.

Vilarva told The Times he was gullible for believing Santos, who was elected in November, and added that he is worried about the impact the politician's apparent propensity for lying could have if he becomes — and remains — an elected official.

"I would be scared to have someone like that in charge — having so much power in his hands," he said, per The Times.

https://news.yahoo.com/ex-boyfriend-accuses-george-santos-123508950.html

Brazil reopens fraud case against Santos.

WashingtonCNN — Law enforcement officials in Brazil will reinstate fraud charges against Rep.-elect George Santos, the Rio de Janeiro prosecutor’s office tells CNN, as the New York Republican officially assumes his role in the US House Tuesday under a cloud of suspicion over his dubious resume.

Prosecutors said they will seek a “formal response” from Santos related to a stolen checkbook in 2008, after police suspended an investigation into him because they were unable to find him for nearly a decade.

Authorities, having verified Santos’ location, will make a formal request to the US Justice Department to notify him of the charges, Maristela Pereira, a spokeswoman for the Rio de Janeiro prosecutor’s office, told CNN. The prosecutor’s office told CNN the request will be filed upon reopening on Friday.

CNN previously confirmed that Santos was charged with embezzlement in a Brazilian court in 2011, according to case records from the Rio de Janeiro Court of Justice. However, court records from 2013 state that the charge was archived after court summons went unanswered and they were unable to locate Santos. ...

Santos’ FEC reports contain a number of unusual expenditures, including exorbitant expenses on air travel and hotels, as well as a number of expenses one penny below the dollar figure above which the FEC requires campaigns to keep receipts. ...

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/01/02/politics/george-santos-brazil-fraud-case/index.html
 
Another disturbing case.

Eleanor Williams said she was the victim of a grooming gang and had been raped multiple times, sparking outrage and protests in her home town. But as she is convicted of multiple counts of perverting the course of justice for inventing the whole story, the BBC looks at the impact her lies had.

The horrific story Eleanor Williams told on social media quickly went viral. The then 19-year-old claimed she had been passed around for sex "for years" across the North of England by an Asian gang who drugged her, beat her, blackmailed her and threatened her with weapons. It captivated her home town of Barrow, Cumbria, heaped pressure on the police, led to abuse for local journalists and excited the far right.

Now, a jury has decided her tales of being trafficked abroad and the photos of her injuries were all lies. The bruises that hundreds of thousands saw in her Facebook photos were real, but they were caused by Williams' own hand after she attacked herself with a hammer.

Months before she posted her lies, she had been relating an even more elaborate story to the police, claiming a string of innocent men were rapists, sex traffickers and armed murderers.

One man, she said, had trafficked her to Amsterdam, forced her to work in a brothel and sold her in a slave auction. But his phone and bank records showed he had been shopping in B&Q in Barrow at the time.

Another, she said, was an Asian drug dealer who had threatened to kill her and dump her in the sea unless she had sex with multiple men. He was actually a young white Tesco worker from Essex who she had been speaking to on a dating site.

Some of the men she accused were arrested - one was charged and spent 10 weeks on remand in prison - all said their lives had been ruined by her baseless allegations. ...


https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cumbria-64150026
 
Another disturbing case.

Eleanor Williams said she was the victim of a grooming gang and had been raped multiple times, sparking outrage and protests in her home town. But as she is convicted of multiple counts of perverting the course of justice for inventing the whole story, the BBC looks at the impact her lies had.

The horrific story Eleanor Williams told on social media quickly went viral. The then 19-year-old claimed she had been passed around for sex "for years" across the North of England by an Asian gang who drugged her, beat her, blackmailed her and threatened her with weapons. It captivated her home town of Barrow, Cumbria, heaped pressure on the police, led to abuse for local journalists and excited the far right.

Now, a jury has decided her tales of being trafficked abroad and the photos of her injuries were all lies. The bruises that hundreds of thousands saw in her Facebook photos were real, but they were caused by Williams' own hand after she attacked herself with a hammer.

Months before she posted her lies, she had been relating an even more elaborate story to the police, claiming a string of innocent men were rapists, sex traffickers and armed murderers.

One man, she said, had trafficked her to Amsterdam, forced her to work in a brothel and sold her in a slave auction. But his phone and bank records showed he had been shopping in B&Q in Barrow at the time.

Another, she said, was an Asian drug dealer who had threatened to kill her and dump her in the sea unless she had sex with multiple men. He was actually a young white Tesco worker from Essex who she had been speaking to on a dating site.

Some of the men she accused were arrested - one was charged and spent 10 weeks on remand in prison - all said their lives had been ruined by her baseless allegations. ...


https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cumbria-64150026

"In 2002, the Met said officers should “accept allegations made by the victim in the first instance as being truthful”.

A report in 2005 called for a “culture of belief, support and respect”.

In 2014, Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary said: “The presumption that a victim should always be believed should be institutionalised.” "

https://www.theguardian.com/comment...us-until-charged-reputations-police-complaint

By 2021, this appears to have been "watered down" to:

"You have the Right to:

  • be treated with respect, dignity, sensitivity, compassion and courtesy..."
https://www.gov.uk/government/publi...ms-of-crime-in-england-and-wales-victims-code

maximus otter
 
Another disturbing case.

Eleanor Williams said she was the victim of a grooming gang and had been raped multiple times, sparking outrage and protests in her home town. But as she is convicted of multiple counts of perverting the course of justice for inventing the whole story, the BBC looks at the impact her lies had.

The horrific story Eleanor Williams told on social media quickly went viral. The then 19-year-old claimed she had been passed around for sex "for years" across the North of England by an Asian gang who drugged her, beat her, blackmailed her and threatened her with weapons. It captivated her home town of Barrow, Cumbria, heaped pressure on the police, led to abuse for local journalists and excited the far right.

Now, a jury has decided her tales of being trafficked abroad and the photos of her injuries were all lies. The bruises that hundreds of thousands saw in her Facebook photos were real, but they were caused by Williams' own hand after she attacked herself with a hammer.

Months before she posted her lies, she had been relating an even more elaborate story to the police, claiming a string of innocent men were rapists, sex traffickers and armed murderers.

One man, she said, had trafficked her to Amsterdam, forced her to work in a brothel and sold her in a slave auction. But his phone and bank records showed he had been shopping in B&Q in Barrow at the time.

Another, she said, was an Asian drug dealer who had threatened to kill her and dump her in the sea unless she had sex with multiple men. He was actually a young white Tesco worker from Essex who she had been speaking to on a dating site.

Some of the men she accused were arrested - one was charged and spent 10 weeks on remand in prison - all said their lives had been ruined by her baseless allegations. ...


https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cumbria-64150026
Severe mental health issues and living in Barrow, one of the most deprived areas in the UK. Sad for her and incredibly traumatic for those wrongfully accused. I wonder whether the investigating police officers saw through her straight away but were constrained by the obvious repercussions if they failed to pursue. Stark contrast to the many publicised incidents where authorities ignored real victims.
 
Another Pretendian.

Rachel Dolezal and Oli London are just a couple of examples from the concerning amount of white people who have recently cosplayed people of color for clout. The latest appears to be Kay LeClaire, a leader of a Wisconsin-based queer Indigenous artists collective who has been accused of faking their heritage.

The self-proclaimed Native American activist — who also identifies as “two-spirit,” a term for possessing both a masculine and a feminine spirit — has played a prominent role in Wisconsin’s Indigenous community. LeClaire recently spearheaded a petition for a white-owned bar, The Winnebago, to change its Indigenous-derived name. In the past, they have claimed to be of Métis, Oneida, Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee heritage, according to a report Tuesday by Madison365. Their purported ethnicity has also helped them secure financial gains, the outlet said.
LeClaire was first accused of faking their Indigenous identity by an anonymous user on a message board who raised questions about their claims. Among them were allegations that LeClaire’s parents were of German and Swedish descent, as well as suggestions that LeClaire used their Ojibwe name in an inconsistent way.

Since then, LeClaire has reportedly apologized. “Moving forward, my efforts will be towards reducing harm by following the directions provided by Native community members and community-specified proxies,” they wrote in an email to Madison365. “Any culturally related items I hold are being redistributed back in community, either to the original makers and gift-givers when possible or elsewhere as determined by community members.”

Whatever lies LeClaire may have fabricated about their identity, this incident points to the more widespread problem of “Pretendians,” a term describing those who falsely claim to be of Indigenous descent. It’s a phenomenon that’s been especially prevalent in academic spaces throughout the U.S. and Canada recently, according to The New York Times. ...

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/indigenous-wisconsin-fake-identity-lie_n_63b5e123e4b0fe267cad1bf8
 
One of my youngest's work team turned out to have been a compulsive liar.

It seems to have been for both attention and gain as she enjoyed both the sympathy she received over her mother's long drawn-out illness and the days off she was given for taking care of her, and the beautiful flowers and gifts she was sent after the funeral.

Someone eventually took Escette aside and told her that the mother was not only alive and well, she'd had a big win at Bingo the previous Saturday. :chuckle:
The various car crashes, house fires, muggings, disabilities, domestic violence and so on suffered by this woman's family were all made-up.

Seems they can't sack her for it. I bloody would.
I'd also be wondering how safe her children were. It might be a small step from pretending a child is ill to giving them something to make sure.
 
One of my youngest's work team turned out to have been a compulsive liar.

It seems to have been for both attention and gain as she enjoyed both the sympathy she received over her mother's long drawn-out illness and the days off she was given for taking care of her, and the beautiful flowers and gifts she was sent after the funeral.

Someone eventually took Escette aside and told her that the mother was not only alive and well, she'd had a big win at Bingo the previous Saturday. :chuckle:
The various car crashes, house fires, muggings, disabilities, domestic violence and so on suffered by this woman's family were all made-up.

Seems they can't sack her for it. I bloody would.
I'd also be wondering how safe her children were. It might be a small step from pretending a child is ill to giving them something to make sure.
I can relate to that one scargy. Used to work with a guy, who said his Mum was seriously, seriously Ill. The company gave him 3 weeks off to care for her.

Then he phoned up to say his Mum had passed away, so the company gave him a further 3 weeks off as compassionate leave. One day the boss thought he’d phone the guy at home to see how he was getting on, and his Mum answered the phone. :hahazebs:

I don’t know how but he kept his job.
 
I can relate to that one scargy. Used to work with a guy, who said his Mum was seriously, seriously Ill. The company gave him 3 weeks off to care for her.

Then he phoned up to say his Mum had passed away, so the company gave him a further 3 weeks off as compassionate leave. One day the boss thought he’d phone the guy at home to see how he was getting on, and his Mum answered the phone. :hahazebs:

I don’t know how but he kept his job.

That's fraud at the very least. :chuckle:

A neighbour of mine reckons she has cancer. Appointments an' everythin'. Absolutely nobody believes her. It's bizarre. :thought:
 
I can relate to that one scargy. Used to work with a guy, who said his Mum was seriously, seriously Ill. The company gave him 3 weeks off to care for her.

Then he phoned up to say his Mum had passed away, so the company gave him a further 3 weeks off as compassionate leave. One day the boss thought he’d phone the guy at home to see how he was getting on, and his Mum answered the phone. :hahazebs:

I don’t know how but he kept his job.
Years ago, we had a young "sonny me lad" who joined our office. It rapidly became apparent that his word could not be taken at face value.

He phoned in sick saying he needed a week off work with his bad back. In those days, there was no need for a doctor's note for absences on this scale.

The manager, who was a wily old bugger who had been around the block a few times, took the time to deliver a get well card and a box of chocolates to the "sick" employee. The boss was not at all surprised when said employee answered the door, clad in overalls and halfway through redecorating his house. The company and young sonny me lad parted ways shortly thereafter.



Looking back at this thread, I think it is important to highlight the distinction between the person who habitually lies for some external gain (money, promotion, etc.) and the person who habitually lies only for the short term emotional rewards of self-aggrandisement or notoriety.

Only the latter sort, who only derive internal or emotional benefit, might be considered compulsive or pathological liars. Of those, some may have lost any sense of what is true or untrue, and some may actual be unable to overcome the compulsion.

At one end of a spectrum, we have calculating liars (fraudsters).
The spectrum passes through people who lie for social reasons (white lies) or who panic in their attempts to avoid consequences of their mistakes. That's most of us at one time or another.
It then moves into those who habitually tell tall tales for the fun of it. This group merges into those who cannot help themselves because they live largely in a fantasy world.
At the extreme, although it may be from different causes, there are those who sincerely believe and say things that are objectively "obviously untrue". Colloquially, although perhaps not technically, schizophrenic.
 
Years ago, we had a young "sonny me lad" who joined our office. It rapidly became apparent that his word could not be taken at face value.

He phoned in sick saying he needed a week off work with his bad back. In those days, there was no need for a doctor's note for absences on this scale.

The manager, who was a wily old bugger who had been around the block a few times, took the time to deliver a get well card and a box of chocolates to the "sick" employee. The boss was not at all surprised when said employee answered the door, clad in overalls and halfway through redecorating his house. The company and young sonny me lad parted ways shortly thereafter.
A couple of years ago, my company recruited a young software engineer who came across as a hotshot.
We had the lockdowns and he was supposed to be working from home. I'd get no answer to my emails from him all day, then he'd make up some excuse. It wasn't long before he got fired. Although I didn't report him, I suspect he'd lied to others and they just told the boss.
 
and other things too. Why pick on schizophrenics?
Because there was a practical limit to the length of my post, and I had no reason to list every possibility. That's why I said, "Colloquially, although perhaps not technically..."

I meant that the average unqualified person would probably use the term "schizophrenic" to describe this sort of symptom, even though a medical professional might not.

Lots of words related to mental health, psychiatry, and psychology are in common use but used incorrectly: "anal" (from anal retentive) doesn't just mean fastidious. Psychopath and sociopath are bandied around, and half the literate population is self-diagnosed as "a bit autistic" or a "a bit OCD."

I'm not endorsing any of this, but in the context of my post, I thought the explicit qualification of the term I used was sufficient to convey my meaning.
 
and other things too. Why pick on schizophrenics?

It isn't accurate, but it is very often seen in common parlance.

Screenshot 2023-01-08 at 1.42.14 AM.png

All the same, if we could just find a different term to save derailing the thread, that would be lovely.
 
Looking back at this thread, I think it is important to highlight the distinction between the person who habitually lies for some external gain (money, promotion, etc.) and the person who habitually lies only for the short term emotional rewards of self-aggrandisement or notoriety.

Good point, although I'd argue that the latter lies for social gain. I've known a fair few people like that and there are many posting across social media.
 
Good point, although I'd argue that the latter lies for social gain. I've known a fair few people like that and there are many posting across social media.
There may be an overlap of course, but I think there are two things going on here.

1) "If I say this, even though I know it is untrue, I will get more followers, more status, and more doors might open for me..." This is lying for some form of gain which exists outside of the mind and body of the person telling the lie. There is an "objective" element to the gain. Someone else can see the "rational purpose" of the lie.

2) "If I say this, I'll get a dopamine hit and feel good for a fleeting moment..." (Of course, the compulsive/pathological liar doesn't think it through in these terms, but this is what I think is going on beneath the surface.) An outside observer can see no outside objective benefit for the liar. Everything the liar gains is subjective and internal.


Having said that, I think I might add a third category to my list, because I have met and dealt with people who simply lose track of the truth. Something is true to them at the moment they say it, and they can say the opposite a moment later and not worry about the contradiction.

I encountered this last category many times in my professional life as an insurance claims investigator, and particularly as a fraud investigator. I am now semi-retired and work part time in customer service and I see the same phenomenon in this new context.


I interpret it as customers who are combining "method acting" and "role playing". They are acting in the manner in which they have seen or heard others behaving in similar situations either in real life or on TV or in films. It is not so much planned behaviour as learned or copied behaviour.

It seems to me that there is no deliberate planned dishonesty in some of these cases. It is just that they are so focussed on their desired outcome that they lose their sense of proportion and go into a spiral of resounding phrases and exaggeration.

I hear phrases like this: "I swear on my children's life ..." "You will put me through to your manager ..." and (hilariously from some thick scrote complaining about a £20 tool that he's broken by using it incorrectly) "You will hear from my legal team."

I get customers telling me that they "spend thousands" with my company when I have immediate access to their customer records and can see they've only bought one thing ever and that was about £200.

I get customers who tell me they are "Losing £1,000 a day" because their £250 piece of equipment is faulty. "You're asking me to lose £1,000 a day for 3 weeks while you inspect it to verify the fault?"

The reply to this last one is, "Well, you could buy one for £250, save £20,750 in the next three weeks, and then have a spare in case anything else goes wrong. If it's such a key piece of equipment, you need a business contingency plan." They hate it when you deploy logic!

Another personal favourite is what I call the [company name] paradox:
"It's 11 months old, sir, we need to inspect it if you say it's faulty."
"But I've only used it three times. It's obviously a fault"
"OK, well that should be apparent at the time of inspection, so there's no need to worry."
"But I can't wait for you to inspect it; I need it every day."

There are many other common examples. I think these people are neither lying dishonestly nor pathological liars.

Instead, I think they are being honest to the extent that they are trying to get something that they sincerely, but wrongly, believe they are entitled to. However, they are habitually saying something that is demonstrably untrue because that is the sort of thing that they believe you are meant to say. It's almost like they feel they are participating in a ritual that has to be gone through, and they have to say the words to get the result.


True story: Many years ago in the fraud team, I was dealing with a customer. Various colleagues had spoken to him, and in each call, his claim had grown a little bit bigger. Over several months, it had increased incrementally from a couple of thousand Pounds, to something approaching £20,000.

At the initial value, we would have had very little difficulty making the claim, but had been asked to provide basic evidence such as receipts. He had reacted with suspicion and thought we were trying to knock his claim down, so he added a bit. We had reacted suspiciously to the increase and asked for more evidence, and a vicious circle had developed. By the time the claim had increased by a factor of about 10 to a figure of nearly £20,000, it was firmly in the territory of "Full investigation needed."

I rang hi and spoke frankly but kindly. The relief I heard in his voice was the relief of a man who had been understood and who could see the hope of a reset on the mistakes he had made. It was not the triumph of a man who had "got away with it". We settled the claim at around £2,000, avoided more than £2,000 worth of investigative costs, and parted as friends.

This was a guy who had said many things that were untrue (mainly adding to the bottom line of an initially genuine claim) but not with dishonest intent. He was simply trying to get what he was entitled to and was trying, in his own mind, to beat a system that was trying to deprive him of his rights. His naive role playing of an aggrieved customer had simply dug him in deeper.
 
Brazil reopens fraud case against Santos.

WashingtonCNN — Law enforcement officials in Brazil will reinstate fraud charges against Rep.-elect George Santos, the Rio de Janeiro prosecutor’s office tells CNN, as the New York Republican officially assumes his role in the US House Tuesday under a cloud of suspicion over his dubious resume.

Prosecutors said they will seek a “formal response” from Santos related to a stolen checkbook in 2008, after police suspended an investigation into him because they were unable to find him for nearly a decade.

Authorities, having verified Santos’ location, will make a formal request to the US Justice Department to notify him of the charges, Maristela Pereira, a spokeswoman for the Rio de Janeiro prosecutor’s office, told CNN. The prosecutor’s office told CNN the request will be filed upon reopening on Friday.

CNN previously confirmed that Santos was charged with embezzlement in a Brazilian court in 2011, according to case records from the Rio de Janeiro Court of Justice. However, court records from 2013 state that the charge was archived after court summons went unanswered and they were unable to locate Santos. ...

Santos’ FEC reports contain a number of unusual expenditures, including exorbitant expenses on air travel and hotels, as well as a number of expenses one penny below the dollar figure above which the FEC requires campaigns to keep receipts. ...

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/01/02/politics/george-santos-brazil-fraud-case/index.html

The plot thickens regarding campaign finance fraud allegations.

GOP Rep. George Santos, the newly elected House member from New York who has admitted to fabricating his work and education history, is now being accused of extensive campaign finance violations.

Monday’s allegations come in a complaint the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center filed with the Federal Election Commission, which could proceed with a formal investigation into Santos. The complaint broadly accuses Santos ― who is already facing other federal and local investigations into lies about his background ― of using his 2022 campaign funds to cover personal needs, lying about how his campaign spent money and hiding the origin of his campaign funds.

Santos, the new complaint claims, has been “knowingly and willfully concealing the true sources of his campaign’s funding, misrepresenting how his campaign spent its money, and illegally paying for personal expenses with campaign funds. Particularly in light of Santos’s mountain of lies about his life and qualifications for office, the Commission should thoroughly investigate what appear to be equally brazen lies about how his campaign raised and spent money.”

Santos’ campaign finance reports contain numerous red flags, the watchdog notes. One is his claim that he loaned $705,000 to his own campaign, even though 2020 records indicate he only had $55,000 to his name. His claims that he earned millions in 2021 and 2022 from a consulting business are “vague, uncorroborated, and non-credible in light of his many previous lies,” the group alleges.

The FEC last week demanded that Santos provide more information about contributions and certain donors to his campaign, according to CNN.

In its complaint, the Campaign Legal Center also flagged dozens of expenses in Santos’ records totaling exactly $199.99 ― just one cent under the amount for which the FEC requires itemized receipts.

“The sheer number of these just-under-$200 disbursements is implausible,” the group says, “and some payments appear to be impossible given the nature of the item or service covered.”

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/george-santos-campaign-violations_n_63bc4cbce4b0ae9de1c05ada
 
Absolutely excellent points being made here- and I AM being truthful...! Now it is as Mikefule has said, we’ve all sort of “white lied” our way out of a tight spot, whether to give ourselves time to mentally regroup, dodge blame or keep the peace...or possibly feel, we’re being kind in some way...

What I have always found interesting is the societal paradox that underpins so much of how we bring up children, always (generally) telling them to tell the “truth” and yet not really wanting them to do so - eg if in the company of a a friend, relative or person who may have some physical differences, or yes, the real killer- ( did it as a young kid myself- bless) even quoting out loud what parents really feel, and have said about that person at home, in supposed private but in earshot of said junior...

So, as parents - or not- tbh, we know what we are instilling in the young is at heart a dishonesty, and in the real World, pretty much an impossible coda to live by- imagine if we all did really, really say what we felt, honestly and openly at all times... would we only exist as fragmented, small social groups, because trusting others would be the most difficult interpersonal skill, and we were constantly attacking each other?

Would it be a World, say, where duels and or trial by combat were the “social” tools for negotiation, could any form of large scale integrated civilisation develop in that environment?

Maybe lying, in at least some form, is a vital social adhesive, holding the cracks together whether between family, friends, and lovers, right up to leaders and the led?
 
American news is reporting he did indeed dress in drag and was an alleged part of that community 16 years ago in Brazil....and he is on video at a street party talking on camera in drag. But now as member of the 'GOP' here he has denied being a part of that whole scene.

:roll:
 
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