Rep. George Santos, aka the Long Island Liar, is a real piece of work.
The New York Republican has already admitted to spewing a slew of lies during his campaign for Congress. But now, a new allegation has arisen that, if true, would make him even more despicable.
Santos allegedly conned a disabled and homeless military veteran out of thousands of dollars — which were donated to help save the man’s dying service dog, Patch reported on Wednesday.
The veteran, Richard Osthoff, told Patch that he met Santos — who introduced himself as Anthony Devolder — when he was going through tough times in May 2016. Osthoff, who served in the Navy and was honorable discharged in 2002, was living in a tent in an abandoned chicken coop in New Jersey with his service dog Sapphire.
Sapphire developed a life-threatening stomach tumor, so Osthoff, now 47, sought help, eventually finding out that the surgery would cost $3,000. One veterinary technician told Osthoff he knew a guy who ran a pet charity. That guy was Anthony Devolder, and the pet charity was called Friends of Pets United.
Osthoff and another New Jersey veteran, retired police Sgt. Michael Boll “told Patch that Santos closed the GoFundMe he set up for Sapphire after it raised $3,000 on social media and disappeared.”
“He stopped answering my texts and calls,” Osthoff told the local news site.
Boll said he contacted the pet charity guy and told him, “You’re messing with a veteran,” asking him to return the money so Ostoff could get another service dog. “He was totally uncooperative on the phone,” Boll said.
A big mess ensued, and Sapphire died. Ostoff allegedly talked one last time with Santos, who he said told him because he “didn’t do things my way,” Santos had put the GoFundMe money from into the charity to use “for other dogs.”
In a message, Santos wrote, “Remember it is our credibility that got GoFundme […] to contribute. We are audited like every 501c3 and we are with the highest standards of integrity.”
But (shocker) that wasn’t true, either. In December, The New York Times reported that the charity was not a registered nonprofit.
During the 2022 campaign, Santos lied about nearly everything. He claimed that he attended New York University and Baruch College, that he worked at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, that his grandparents escaped the Holocaust, that he was Jewish and that his mother died in the September 11 terror attacks at the World Trade Center.
Santos has copped to lying about his past but said, “I am not a criminal.”
“This [controversy] will not deter me from having good legislative success. I will be effective. I will be good,” he told the New York Post. “My sins here are embellishing my resume. I’m sorry.”
“I didn’t graduate from any institution of higher learning. I’m embarrassed and sorry for having embellished my resume,” he said. “I own up to that … We do stupid things in life.”
Santos offered a hilarious defense of his claim to be Jewish.
“I never claimed to be Jewish,” Santos said. “I am Catholic. Because I learned my maternal family had a Jewish background I said I was ‘Jew-ish.'”
In that interview, Santos defiantly dismissed an allegation that he had a criminal charge filed against him in Brazil. “I am not a criminal here — not here or in Brazil or any jurisdiction in the world,” Santos said. “Absolutely not. That didn’t happen.”
But CNN later reported that Santos admitted to stealing a man’s checkbook to buy clothing and shoes in Brazil in 2008. Law enforcement officials there plan to reinstate fraud charges against Santos, the network reported on January 4.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent for a national newspaper. He was also the a.m. editor of the Drudge Report for four years. Send tips to [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @josephcurl.