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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Victoria Bekiempis in New York

Just what they wanted: fed-up New Yorkers revel in SantaCon fraud charge

SantaCon Brad HoylmanSigal Harvey Epstein New York Santa Claus
people dressed as Santa stand outside
Thousands of revelers dressed as Santa Claus and other famous characters at the 2025 event. Photograph: Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images

On what started as an otherwise uneventful spring day in New York City, thousands of residents last week received what they felt was an early Christmas present.

Stefan Pildes, organizer of SantaCon in New York City, was arrested on Wednesday morning for allegedly using hundreds of thousands from event-based charitable donations on his personal expenses, such as luxe vacations and “extravagant meals”, Manhattan federal prosecutors said.

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