WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A federal watchdog on Monday accused newly elected Republican U.S. Representative George Santos of breaking campaign finance laws by concealing funding sources and using donor money to pay rent on his personal residence.
The Campaign Legal Center, a non-partisan government watchdog, made the complaint in a filing with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) after Santos admitted in an interview with the New York Post that he fabricated much of his resume.
āThe commission should thoroughly investigate what appear to be equally brazen lies about how his campaign raised and spent money,ā according to the complaint.
Santosā office in Congress referred queries to the lawmakerās election campaign, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Santos, who was elected in November to represent a district in New York Cityās Queens borough and parts of its wealthy Long Island suburbs, already faces an investigation by a New York prosecutorās office, according to the district attorney for Nassau County. The nature of that inquiry remains unclear.
Citing federal disclosures, the complaint filed on Monday with the FEC alleges that Santos āappears to have spent $13,500 on rent payments for Santosās personal residence in blatant violation of the law.ā
The Campaign Legal Center said Santosā campaign finance disclosures also do not square with other disclosures he has made regarding his income and assets.
āThe overall circumstances instead indicate that unknown individuals or corporations may have illegally funneled money to Santosās campaign,ā according to the complaint.
An FEC spokesman said the commission does not comment on pending enforcement matters.
Following news stories detailing falsehoods in how Santos has described his education and work and family history, Santos last month apologized for āembellishingā his resume, while defending aspects of the way he had represented himself.