Companies affiliated with embattled congressman George Santos have drawn scrutiny from lawmakers, regulators, and experts as the newly elected Republican faces increasing political pressure to step down for lying about his background.
Santos, who represents suburban areas of New York City, has been under fire since shortly after his election in November for inventing key parts of his education and work history, and building significant wealth virtually overnight that he may have used to finance his campaign.
In addition to claiming a false work history with major investment banks, Santos’ most recent professional history all leads back to a fund that federal regulators called a Ponzi scheme in a 2021 lawsuit for using new investor money to pay back previous investors. Independent experts said the company’s statements, including some Santos repeated, raise red flags.
- Santos said he led the efforts of that firm, called Harbor City Capital, in New York City. He made multiple false statements about the company in interviews during his first campaign for Congress. The Securities and Exchange Commission said Harbor City Capital raised $17.1 million in order to enrich the company’s founder, but did not name Santos as a defendant.
- After that, Santos started a company, Devolder Organization LLC, with help from a company linked to Harbor City Capital’s chief financial officer. Devolder Organization is the company that Santos claimed on financial disclosures grew to…
