U.S. Rep. George Santos leaves the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Latest York in Central Islip, Latest York, May 10, 2023.
Barry Williams | Latest York Each day News | Getty Images
A person who was a paid campaign fundraiser for Rep. George Santos was indicted in Latest York on federal charges related to his allegedly impersonating a top aide to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy as he solicited donations for Santos.
The fundraiser, Samuel Miele, was charged with 4 counts of wire fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft within the indictment issued in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Latest York.
Miele’s indictment comes three months after the Latest York Republican Santos himself was criminally charged in the identical court by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn with fraud, theft, money laundering and making false statements.
CNBC reported in January that Miele had made calls and sent emails to would-be donors while claiming to be Dan Meyer, McCarthy’s chief of staff, throughout the 2020 and 2022 election cycles, when Miele was raising funds for Santos’ House campaigns those years.
Miele and his lawyer Kevin Marino didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment on the indictment.
McCarthy, a California Republican, has defended Santos’ right to proceed serving within the House whilst he fights criminal charges.
In a tweet Wednesday responding to a tweet of this text, Rep. Dan Goldman, a Democrat who represents a district covering lower Manhattan and a part of Brooklyn, blasted McCarthy.
“In keeping with a federal indictment, George Santos paid someone to impersonate Kevin McCarthy’s chief of staff to boost money, yet McCarthy continues to guard Santos,” Goldman wrote.
“Pathetic and shameful.”
In a court filing Wednesday, prosecutors notified two judges within the Eastern District Court that the criminal cases against Santos and Miele “could also be presumptively related since the facts of every case arise out of overlapping events.”
Since the cases are related, prosecutors wrote, “could also be appropriate” to reassign them in order that one judge is handling each which “may lead to a big savings of judicial resources and serve the interests of justice.”
– Additional reporting by CNBC’s Kevin Breuninger and Brian Schwartz
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