George Santos’ campaign loans raise new concerns.

By Justin Jones On Jan 25, 2023

George Santos’ campaign loans raise new concerns. On Tuesday, the campaign of beleaguered Rep. George Santos filed amended records with federal authorities, which appear to raise further doubts about the source of the significant personal loans he stated he paid to his campaign.

The New York Republican, who has been the target of many investigations into his finances and fabrications about his biography and resume, previously claimed he lent his campaign over $800,000.

However, in two new FEC forms, the boxes showing that the loans of $500,000 and $125,000 came from personal cash were left unchecked.

The Daily Beast first reported the updated FEC filings.

Professionals in the field of campaign finance say it was initially unclear what the changes would entail.

On Wednesday, citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington’s Jordan Libowitz said, “I have no idea what’s going on with the loans,” on CNN. Without question, this FEC filing is the most perplexing thing I’ve ever seen.

As his campaign faces close examination, Santos filed 10 amendment reports with the FEC on Tuesday, the earliest of which dates back to early 2021. The campaign frequently adds new information to its existing paperwork. Throughout two election cycles, the agency has sent nearly two dozen letters to his campaign requesting additional information on his filings.

“This may be the sloppiest bookkeeping of any candidate we’ve ever seen,” Libowitz speculated. But if Santos didn’t front the cash for the loans, he said, it begs whether the money came from a questionable source.

Although candidates can give or borrow unlimited money for their campaigns, it is against the law to accept a donation of more than $600. Contributions of any size from a company to a candidate for Congress are also illegal.

Santos declined to divulge the origin of the campaign’s money during a contentious exchange with reporters on Wednesday morning.

Let me be apparent: he said that I do not change anything and do not touch my FEC materials. Don’t try to be dishonest and say that I hired a campaign fiduciary when you know well that every campaign does.

Santos, a Republican, was able to borrow $705,000 to fund his successful 2022 campaign, which has been the source of much speculation about his campaign finances. In November, Santos flipped a district on Long Island controlled by the Democrats, paving the way for the Republicans to gain a slim majority in the House.

Santos declared he had no assets and earned $55,000 per year on his financial disclosure form during his failed 2020 congressional campaign. Santos stated he was paid $750,000 by the Devolder Organization two years later.

The nature of Desolder’s business operations has been the subject of his many explanations.

Devolder, as Santos explained to Semafor, does “deal building” and “specialized consulting” for “high net worth individuals,” and he has already “landed a couple of million-dollar contracts” in the company’s first six months of operation. The Campaign Legal Center recently filed a complaint with the FEC against Santos, pointing out that he had previously referred to the company as “his family’s enterprise” and claimed responsibility for $80 million in assets.

Adv Noti, director of the Campaign Legal Center’s legal division, has stated that Santos’ filings are still murky.

He said the campaign has been “inconsistent” in marking the personal fund’s box regarding loans during the entire cycle. It is, therefore, still being determined whether the adjustments made on Tuesday were deliberate.

It’s a mystery, like the rest of Santos, Noti remarked.

Furthermore, he added, the new forms don’t appear to answer some urgent questions regarding Santos’ campaign spending, such as the hundreds of disbursements of just under $200.

The campaign reportedly recorded 37 expenses totaling $199.99, just one penny below the threshold at which movements are required to preserve receipts, as previously reported. The Campaign Legal Center filed a complaint with the FEC claiming that the high volume of $199.99 expenditures is “implausible,” It requested an investigation into whether or not Santos had lied on his forms.

Noti has called on the agency to conduct a full audit of Santos’ campaign or open a formal probe into the matter.

FEC spokeswoman Judith Ingram declined to comment, citing the agency’s policy of not discussing pending or possible enforcement matters.