George Santos Accused of Stealing Thousands from Dying Dog’s GoFundMe

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Rep. George Santos (R-NY) leaves the U.S. Capitol on January 12, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Win McNamee/Getty Photographs)

Along side lying about being Jewish, using stolen checks in Brazil, and necessarily inventing out of thin air a lot of his resumé earlier than he was once elected to Congress, you’ll now upload another allegation in opposition to George Santos: stealing money from a GoFundMe for a veteran’s dying service dog

The veteran, 47-year-old Richard Osthoff, accused the freshman New York congressman Tuesday of putting in a GoFundMe to pay for clinical remedy for his provider canine, elevating $3,000 via it, after which disappearing with the cash with out turning in a cent. The canine then died months later with out receiving remedy. 

Osthoff informed Patch.com that when his canine Sapphire advanced a abdomen tumor in 2016, a veterinarian referred him to “a man who runs a puppy charity.” That guy was once Santos, who was once then going through the identify Anthony Devolder, and the charity was once Buddies of Pets United, in step with Patch.com. Santos has claimed that the charity was once a registered nonprofit, however the Inner Earnings Carrier has no report of the group’s lifestyles, the New York Times reported in December

After the GoFundMe’s purpose was once reached, Santos “stopped answering my texts and calls,” Osthoff informed Patch.com. Osthoff posted on Fb in November 2016 that he was once “scammed through Anthony Devolder,” and that because of “dangerous veterinary contacts, and subterfuge referring to fee, Sapphire has NOT won veterinary care, and her expansion is 3 to 4 instances larger than it was once when the marketing campaign was once fulfilled,” in step with a screenshot revealed through Patch.com. 

A number of the issues have been that Santos informed Osthoff he had to make use of a veterinarian in Queens fairly than the only in New Jersey who had informed him Sapphire wanted the surgical operation—after which, the veterinarian in Queens informed Osthoff that the tumor was once inoperable. A 2d one that tried to intrude on Osthoff’s behalf, some other veteran who runs a nonprofit outreach team, additionally informed Patch that Santos was once “completely uncooperative” in a telephone dialog. 

In textual content messages revealed through Patch.com, an individual who’s purportedly Santos informed Osthoff that it was once “our credibility”—which means the charity’s—that introduced within the donations, and that the budget raised for Sapphire can be “moved directly to the following animal in want.” Osthoff additionally informed Patch.com that Santos informed him in a telephone dialog that he would use the cash donated for Sapphire for different animals as a result of Osthoff “didn’t do issues [Santos’s] manner.” 

Sapphire died in Jan. 2017, in step with Patch.com. A GoFundMe spokesperson informed VICE Information in an electronic mail following e-newsletter of this tale that once the corporate “won a file of a subject with this fundraiser in overdue 2016, our consider and protection staff sought evidence of the supply of budget from the organizer.”

“The organizer failed to reply, which ended in the fundraiser being got rid of and the e-mail related to that account prohibited from additional use on our platform,” the spokesperson mentioned. “GoFundMe has a nil tolerance coverage for misuse of our platform and cooperates with legislation enforcement investigations of the ones accused of wrongdoing.”

Santos received election in November, flipping a Democratic district and serving to Republicans win keep an eye on of the Space for the primary time since 2018. Since then, then again, he has been accused of lying about the place he went to highschool, about an invented faculty volleyball occupation at a college he seems to have by no means attended, and about his paintings on Wall Boulevard. He has reportedly admitted to committing fraud in Brazil and been accused of robbery within the U.S., the place former roommates say he stole pieces from them—together with a Burberry shawl he wore to a “Forestall the Scouse borrow” rally on Jan. 5, 2021, Patch reported last week

Santos has additionally lied about having Jewish ancestry or even having kinfolk who survived the Holocaust. A former roommate of Santos’ told CNN Tuesday that Santos went through Anthony Devolder when he knew him, however used some other other remaining identify whilst soliciting cash via Buddies of Pets United as a result of, as Santos allegedly informed him: “The Jews will give more cash if you happen to’re a Jew.” 

Even though the Nassau County GOP and six other New York Republican members of Congress have referred to as for his resignation, it recently seems as although Santos will face 0 penalties for necessarily mendacity his manner into Congress. Republican leaders appointed him to two committees on Tuesday, at the same time as Speaker Kevin McCarthy admitted to reporters earlier this week that he “at all times had a couple of questions” about his new member’s in large part invented resumé. 

Santos has in large part refused to touch upon many of the allegations in opposition to him. Final week, he informed journalists on Capitol Hill that he would “be addressing the media quickly… on my time.” He additionally tweeted on Jan. 11: “I can NOT renounce!” 

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