Rep.-elect George Santos admitted to using stolen checks in Brazil in 2008, documents show

Republican Politician Rep.-elect George Santos confessed to taking a male’s checkbook that remained in his mom’s belongings to acquire clothes and shoes in 2008, according to files gotten by CNN.

The admission can be found in a declaration Santos provided to authorities in 2010, according to 150 pages worth of case files.

Authorities had actually suspended an examination into Santos since they were not able to discover him for almost a years. However police authorities in Brazil will restore scams charges versus the New york city Republican politician, CNN reported Tuesday.

Santos utilized taken checks to make purchases at a store in Niterói, a city beyond Rio de Janeiro on June 17, 2008, according to court files. When making the purchase, he utilized an ID card with the checkbook owner’s name and a photo of himself, according to authorities files.

Authorities summoned Santos numerous times in 2008, 2009 and 2010 to speak with them. Santos’ mom informed the authorities in November 2010 that the checks were taken from a checkbook she had in her handbag coming from Delio da Camara da Costa Alemao, who passed away a year prior to her speaking with authorities, which her boy had actually utilized 4 checks. Santos’ mom was Costa Alemao’s nurse prior to his death.

Speaking to the authorities for the very first time that month, Santos admitted he took the checkbook from his mother’s handbag which he utilized “some sheets” to make purchases. Santos admitted to creating the male’s signature on 2 checks to acquire clothing and shoes costing around $1,313.63 on the date of the forgery, and validated it was his signature on the created checks.

He likewise informed authorities he was an American with double citizenship, was White and a teacher, authorities files reveal.

Santos stated his mom, who just discovered of the taken checks around a month after he took them, asked him “with anguish” to return the checkbook, however he had actually currently ripped up the staying checks and tossed them in a manhole.

” He [Santos] acknowledged having actually been accountable for creating the signatures on the checks, likewise validating that he had actually damaged the staying checks,” authorities composed in a query report about Santos. The file including the confession was signed by Santos on November 18, 2010.

CNN has actually connected to a lawyer for Santos.

Santos signed 2 checks at the shop as if he was the account owner, court files reveal. The checks were planned to spend for the purchase in 2 installations– set for July 25 and August 25, 2008.

The shop clerk ended up being suspicious after the signatures on the checks did not match, he informed authorities. 2 days after Santos made the purchases, a male called Thiago entered into the very same shop with the shoes Santos had actually acquired and attempted to return them for a various size. He stated a buddy provided him the shoes and was uninformed of any illegal activity.

The clerk needed to pay the quantity of the deceitful purchase in installations to the shop, he informed authorities, although the shop wound up waving a few of the payments for the clerk, the shop supervisor informed the authorities in 2010. Right after the sale, they had the ability to discover the checking account’s owner and speak to him on the phone, the supervisor stated. He stated he had actually closed the account in 2006 after losing the checkbook.

At one point the clerk had the ability to find Santos utilizing social networks and, he stated, Santos guaranteed to pay him back however never ever did. The clerk turned over photos of Santos to authorities that he had actually discovered on social networks. Screenshots of the discussions in between the clerk and Santos are consisted of in the files gotten by CNN.

Santos informed detectives that neither his mom, nor his pal Thiago, knew the deceitful purchases at the time of the criminal activity.

In June 2011, detectives submitted a demand with the Civil Authorities to take instant judicial steps versus Santos. In September, a judge summoned him to react to the grievance through a lawyer. Neither Santos nor a lawyer ever reacted. 3 months later on, authorities attempted to provide a summons for Santos at the previous house of his mom however he was unable to be situated and she no longer lived there.

Once again in 2013, neither Santos, nor his mom or granny at their previous addresses, had the ability to lie. In October of that year, an order was released in Rio de Janeiro’s justice gazette summoning him to appear in court after authorities were not able to find him. Santos was offered 10 days to use his defense however he never ever appeared. A judge ultimately suspended the statute of restrictions in order for the case to be resumed later on if Santos was discovered, the files reveal.

As just recently as October 2020, a file from the judiciary stated they still had actually never ever had the ability to find Santos to prosecute him for the criminal activity.

Brazilian authorities, having actually now confirmed Santos’ place, will make an official demand to the United States Justice Department to alert Santos of the charges, Maristela Pereira, a spokesperson for the Rio de Janeiro district attorney’s workplace, informed CNN. The district attorney’s workplace informed CNN the demand will be submitted upon resuming on Friday.

In an interview with the New york city Post recently, Santos rejected that he had actually been charged with any criminal activity in Brazil, stating: “I am not a criminal here– not here or in Brazil or any jurisdiction worldwide. Never. That didn’t occur.”.