A scandal-plagued Republican congressman who allegedly lied about his life to get elected last year has been charged with 13 federal offences.
George Santos was arrested and pleaded not guilty in New York on Thursday (AEST) to fraud, money laundering and theft of public funds.
The politician had been resisting calls to resign for lying about his resume – including education, work history, charitable activity, athletic prowess and where he lives.
The unravelling of some of those alleged lies led to charges against him, which include defrauding prospective political supporters.
Unsealed court documents allege Mr Santos laundered donated money to pay for his personal expenses and luxuries.
He allegedly illegally received unemployment benefits while he was employed.
He is also accused of making false statements to the House of Representatives about his assets, income and liabilities.
“Taken together, the allegations in the indictment charge Santos with relying on repeated dishonesty and deception to ascend to the halls of Congress and enrich himself,” Breon Peace, the US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement.
Outside court, Mr Santos slammed the charges as a “witch hunt”, adding he would not resign and would still seek re-election.
Shortly after Mr Santos’ election in 2022 to represent a wealthy area of New York’s Long Island, the New York Times and other media outlets revealed that he had fabricated almost every aspect of his personal and professional history.
Among other claims, Mr Santos said he had degrees from New York University and Baruch College, despite neither institution’s having any record of his attending.
He claimed to have worked at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, which also was untrue.
He said falsely that he was Jewish and that his grandparents escaped the Nazis during World War II.
Mr Santos, who is gay, also failed to disclose that he was married to a woman for several years ending in 2019.
He has since admitted to fabricating large parts of his resume.
Top House Republicans, who control the chamber by a narrow 222-213 margin, said they would wait for the legal process to play out before taking further action on Mr Santos.
Nine House Republicans have so far called on Mr Santos to resign, including six from his home state of New York.
But No.2 House Republican Steve Scalise said the caucus would withhold judgment on Mr Santos.
“The charges just came out,” Mr Scalise said at a press conference.
“In America, there’s a presumption of innocence but they’re serious charges. He’s going to have to go through the legal process.”
The House Ethics Committee in March launched a multipronged investigation to look at everything from alleged illegal activity over Mr Santos’ 2022 campaign and failing to properly disclose information required on House statements to violations of federal conflict-of-interest laws.
Some of the allegations in the indictment track closely with the claims being investigated by the House panel.
In the political campaign scheme, prosecutors said Mr Santos laundered donations into his own personal bank accounts and used thousands of dollars to pay for personal expenses, from luxury clothing to credit card payments.
He also is accused of repeatedly making false statements about his income in forms he filed with the House.
For instance, he allegedly failed to properly report $US25,403 ($37,618) in investment income in 2020 and falsely claimed he earned a salary, commission and bonuses of $US55,000 from “Company #2” when he had received only $US27,555.
He also allegedly misstated his income in 2022, claiming for example that he had a salary of $US750,000 from an entity he controlled and that he maintained checking accounts with balances of $US100,001-$US250,000.
In reality, the indictment says, none of those claims were true.
In addition to those alleged schemes, prosecutors said Mr Santos sought to cash in on unemployment benefits during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
