[ZERO] Incoming Republican New York Congressman George Santos appears to have presented voters and the public at large with a personal history that's positively riddled with falsehoods, according to a damning exposé from The New York Times.
For starters, Santos claimed that he earned degrees in economics and finance from Baruch College and New York University. However, when the Times inquired, neither school was able to locate any record of this attendance.
After securing his degrees, he supposedly became "an associate asset manager" in Citigroup's real estate division, according to a biography on his campaign website. A Citi spokeswoman not only told the Times that Citi couldn't confirm he'd worked there, but that his claimed job title wasn't familiar either -- and Citi sold its asset management division in 2005.
His shiny campaign resumé also included a claimed stint at Goldman Sachs. If you've picked up on the pattern, you've already guessed -- correctly -- that Goldman Sachs couldn't find any record of his employment.
Santos said he was the founder and leader of "Friends of Pets United," a supposed tax-exempt organization. While the Times found some traces of the organization on Facebook, the IRS found no indication it held tax-exempt status, and neither New York nor New Jersey officials could find records of such a registered charity.
It just keeps gets better: Friends of Pets United held a joint $50-a-head fundraiser, but the event's beneficiary says she never received a dime -- just excuses from Santos on why the money wasn't coming through.
During the same period as the purported pet philanthropy, Santos was the subject of an eviction suit, where was accused of owing $2,250 in rent. Two years later -- in 2017 -- he was again the target of an eviction claim, this time allegedly owing more than $10,000. Eviction was ordered, and Santos was fined more than $12,000.
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