George Santos faces new complaint of illegally campaigning without a treasurer
Indicted Long Island Rep. George Santos faced a new complaint Wednesday claiming he’s breaking the law by running his campaign without a treasurer.
Andrew Olson is listed as Santos’ campaign treasurer, but an ethics watchdog group said that might just be another lie.
“There is reason to believe that Rep. George Santos’s treasurer does not exist and that Santos’s committees are violating the law by raising and spending money without a treasurer,” according to the complaint filed with the Federal Elections Commission by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).
CREW noted that Olson’s listed address is the same as the former Elmhurst, Queens, residence of Santos and his sister, Tiffany.
Tiffany Santos had failed to pay nearly $40,000 in rent payments there before being evicted.
Her dispute with her landlord was reportedly settled in court earlier this month.
“Given his struggles with the truth, much about Rep. Santos remains a mystery, but there’s no bigger mystery than his treasurer,” CREW president Noah Bookbinder said.
“No one can seem to find Andrew Olson.
“If he does not exist, it would be an extreme abuse of our campaign finance system — one the FEC should not permit.”
The Post sent a query to Olson’s listed email address in FEC filings.
There was no immediate response.
The Post previously reported on the saga regarding the identity of Santos’ campaign treasurer.
Santos’ prior treasurer, Nancy Marks, resigned as questions about the disgraced lawmaker’s muddled campaign finances mounted.
She was also dumped by another longtime client, former New York Rep. Lee Zeldin — the Republican candidate for governor — last year after Santos’ campaign lies came to light.
FEC filings show that the Santos campaign initially attempted to replace Marks with Ohio-based political operative Thomas Datwyler, who says he didn’t agree to take the job despite being listed as treasurer on campaign paperwork.
Without a treasurer, Santos is legally prohibited from raising and spending campaign money, according to CREW.
“As we’ve seen, there are significant issues with Rep. Santos’ filings,” Bookbinder said.
“His treasurer could be held liable for their accuracy. If there is not a treasurer to take responsibility, that undercuts our whole system of accountability. This must be immediately investigated.”
The FEC declined to comment on the complaint.
Keeping track of Rep. George Santos' lies
Santos has admitted he lied on the campaign trail about his education and work experience.
- Claimed to have attended Horace Mann private school
A school spokesperson told CNN, “We’ve searched the records and there is no evidence that George Santos (or any alias) attended Horace Mann.”
- Claimed to have earned degrees from New York University and Baruch College
After the New York Times reported that neither school could find his name in their records, Santos came clean to The Post.
- Claimed to have worked for Citigroup and Goldman Sachs
Both financial firms told the New York Times they couldn’t confirm his employment claims.
- Claimed to own 13 rental properties
Santos confessed to The Post that he “does not own any properties” and acknowledged that he lived in his sister’s home on Long Island.
- Touted himself as a ‘proud American Jew’ whose grandparents escaped the Holocaust
“I never claimed to be Jewish,” Santos said. “I am Catholic. Because I learned my maternal family had a Jewish background, I said I was ‘Jew-ish.’”
- Claimed his mom was a groundbreaking executive who died as a result of the Sept. 11 terror attacks
Fatima A.C.H. Devolder died on Dec. 23, 2016, at Elmhurst Hospital Hospice.
Earlier Wednesday, Santos was indicted on 13 counts by the Department of Justice unrelated to the CREW complaint.
Santos surrendered Wednesday as federal prosecutors revealed the charges against him — including that he embezzled $50,000 in campaign money to buy designer clothing and pay personal expenses.
Santos, 34, is also accused of cheating his way to COVID unemployment benefits and lying to Congress on financial disclosure forms in which he claimed to be a millionaire, according to the 13-count indictment against him.
He pleaded not guilty at his first appearance in Central Islip federal court and was released on $500,000 bond.
Republicans, including state GOP chairman Ed Cox, said Santos is a taint on the party and should resign.
