George Santos said accused ‘Ponzi scheme’ he worked at was ‘100% legitimate’ when accused of fraud in 2020

Republican Rep. George Santos, stated an organization later accused of working a “Ponzi scheme” was “100% legit” when it was accused by a possible buyer of fraud in 2020, greater than a yr earlier than it was sued by the US Securities and Change Fee. As soon as the corporate, the place he labored, got here underneath federal scrutiny, Santos claimed publicly that he was unaware of accusations of fraud on the agency, a CNN KFile overview of Santos’ social media and statements discovered.

Santos, the embattled freshman Republican, faces rising strain to resign after he lied and misrepresented his academic, work and household historical past, together with falsely claiming he was Jewish and the descendant of Holocaust survivors. Santos admitted to “embellishing” his resume, however has maintained he’s “not a felony.”

Santos labored at Harbor Metropolis Capital Corp. in 2020 and 2021, an organization the SEC stated was a “basic Ponzi scheme” in an April 2021 criticism towards the agency. A Ponzi scheme is a kind of fraud the place current traders are paid with funds from new traders, usually promising artificially excessive charges of return with little threat. Santos was not named within the SEC criticism.

Joseph Murray, an lawyer for Rep. Santos, informed CNN in an e-mail on Thursday that Santos was unaware of wrongdoing on the firm.

“As to any questions on Harbor Metropolis Capital, in mild of the continued investigation, and for the advantage of the victims, it might be inappropriate to reply apart from to say that Congressman Santos was utterly unaware of any criminality happening at Harbor Metropolis Capital,” Murray informed CNN.

Santos informed The Every day Beast in 2022 that he was “as distraught and disturbed as everybody else” to study of allegations towards Harbor Metropolis. However in a since-removed tweet on his since-deleted private Twitter account, a possible buyer questioned claims the corporate had a 100% financial institution assure on their funding within the type of a stand by line of credit score (SBLC).

“The market instability is resulting in sever (sic) capital erosion. @HarborCityCap provides you a method that mitigates loss and threat whereas creating money movement, in the meantime your precept is 100% secured by an SBLC held by varied main establishments. #fixedincome #alternativeinvestment #win,” Santos tweeted in April 2020 underneath the title George Devolder, utilizing his mom’s household title.

In June, a possible buyer responded to that tweet from Santos saying he seemed right into a SBLC from Harbor Metropolis and located it to be fraudulent.

“George, this SBLC I acquired from Harbor Metropolis was seemed into, and Deutsche Financial institution claims is a whole fraud and never signed by the financial institution officer on the doc. How do you clarify this?,” the consumer stated.

“I’m sorry I’m not following you. Might you please ship me an e-mail at George.devolder@harborcity.com and we will go over this collectively. Our SBLC is 100% legit and issued by their establishment. I sit up for listening to from you,” responded Santos.

In truth, based on the SEC criticism, “at no level” was Harbor Metropolis Capital “ever issued a SBLC,” regardless of claims from the corporate.

Dylan Riddle, a spokesman for Deutsche Financial institution, informed CNN on Monday that they’d no affiliation with Harbor Metropolis Capital.

“Harbor Metropolis Capital was not a consumer of Deutsche Financial institution,” he stated.

Lawyer Katherine C. Donlon, the court-appointed receiver for Harbor Metropolis Capital informed CNN in an e-mail on Friday Santos was affiliated with Harbor Metropolis Capital from mid January 2020 by April 2021.

On Wednesday, the Nassau County GOP and several other New York Republican congressmen known as on Santos to resign. Santos nonetheless has the tacit help of Home Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who stated it was as much as the voters to determine.

In different media reviewed by CNN’s KFile from 2020, Santos known as himself “the top man” on the Harbor Metropolis workplace in New York and the manager on the firm. In a single 2020 interview, Santos stated he managed a $1.5 billion fund for the corporate with returns of 12% and 26% on traders’ cash.

“At present at Harbor Metropolis Capital, I handle a 1.5 billion fund, proper?,” stated Santos. “And I understand how to handle it nicely. I give report returns to anyone who watches this, they’ll perceive. I’m giving, a 12% mounted yield revenue return a yr, which no one available in the market’s giving 4 and we’re giving 12. We’re additionally giving as much as 20 to 26% in IRR return on our traders’ capital. So if there’s one thing I understand how to do, it’s handle {dollars} and develop them.”

The SEC filed a criticism in April 2021 towards Harbor Metropolis Capital and founder Jonathan P. Maroney, alleging that Maroney raised $17.1 million by deceiving greater than 100 hundred traders by a sequence of unregistered fraudulent safety choices and used the cash to complement himself and his household. The SEC claimed that of the investor cash collected and deposited into Harbor Metropolis Capital financial institution accounts “at most” solely $449,000 have been used for enterprise bills.

Neither Santos nor different Harbor Metropolis Capital staff have been named within the criticism.

In October, Maroney was granted a keep in federal courtroom for the SEC’s civil lawsuit, after Maroney famous that he “is at present the goal in a associated felony investigation.” He’s representing himself within the case.

CNN reached out to Maroney for remark however didn’t obtain a response.