Rep. George Santos’ marketing campaign committee is going through new questions from federal regulators after submitting paperwork itemizing a brand new treasurer who says he by no means took the job.
The Federal Election Fee sent a letter Thursday to the Devolder Santos for Congress marketing campaign searching for readability on the switch. It’s the newest scrutiny for the New York congressman who has been caught fabricating many parts of his life story.
The letter mentioned the first-year Republican’s marketing campaign “may have failed to include the true, correct, or complete treasurer information” on paperwork Wednesday itemizing Thomas Datwyler as its new treasurer and custodian of data.
5 different political fundraising committees linked to Santos acquired the identical letters after they, too, filed paperwork Wednesday listing Datwyler as their new treasurer.
The marketing campaign and committees have till March 2 to reply. In the event that they fail to take action, paperwork itemizing Datwyler as treasurer shall be positioned within the “unverified” part of the FEC’s web site and the committees may face further enforcement motion.
If Santos’ marketing campaign is discovered to have knowingly and willfully made any “materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation” on its paperwork, it may probably face prison prices, the FEC’s letter mentioned.
A message searching for remark was left with a marketing campaign lawyer.
Devolder Santos for Congress filed a brand new assertion of group on Wednesday itemizing Datwyler as treasurer and custodian of data, changing Nancy Marks, who had held each positions since Santos first ran for Congress in 2020.
The switch got here amid lingering questions on irregularities within the committee’s monetary experiences and the source of Santos’ wealth.
Datwyler mentioned by way of a lawyer, Derek Ross, that he had declined the job and was not conscious that he could be listed as treasurer on the marketing campaign’s filings, which included what it mentioned was his digital signature, alongside together with his electronic mail and mailing addresses.
“On Monday we informed the Santos campaign that Mr. Datwyler would not be serving as treasurer,” Datwyler’s lawyer, Derek Ross, mentioned in an announcement. “It appears there’s a disconnect between that conversation and the filings (Wednesday) which we did not authorize.”
Below federal laws, a marketing campaign committee can’t increase or spend cash except it has a treasurer. The treasurer collects all contributions — and solely the treasurer, or an individual designated by the treasurer, can approve marketing campaign bills.