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George Santos in the House of Representatives: He rejects the latest allegations as "fake".
Photo:
Alex Brandon / dpa
Two New Jersey war veterans have accused Republican Congressman George Santos of fraud.
As Rich Osthoff and Michael Boll reported to CNN, Santos is said to have started a campaign in 2016 to collect donations for Osthoff's terminally ill dog.
In fact, about $3,000 was raised.
However, Santos then broke off contact with the men – and kept the money.
Santos is currently under massive criticism anyway: The 34-year-old was elected to the House of Representatives for the first time in the congressional elections in November.
The New York Times then took a close look at Santos' resume.
For example, he claimed to have been a "savvy Wall Street investor."
However, when asked by the newspaper, alleged employers said Santos had never been employed by them.
The newspaper was also unable to verify his university degree.
Santos has also been accused of misleading the public about his family history and alleged Jewish background.
The New York prosecutor's office then began an investigation in December.
In an interview, the Republican admitted that he had "glossed over" his CV - but that he was not a "criminal".
The local news site »Patch.com« was the first to report about the alleged fraud with donations for a terminally ill dog.
Santos rejected the allegations against the “Semafor” platform – he described the report as “fake”.
CNN picked up the Patch.com report and spoke to the two veterans.
Rich Osthoff once served in the US Navy.
In 2015, a tumor was discovered in his Pitbull Sapphire;
in the following year it grew again.
Osthoff himself stated that he was homeless at the time: he lost his job and his house and lived in a tent.
"She doesn't deserve to die from this tumor"
Michael Boll is the founder of the New Jersey Veterans Network.
He is described as Osthoff's friend and mentor.
Boll told CNN he took care of the war veteran and tried to organize help for his dog.
A mutual friend then put him and Osthoff in touch with George Santos – the politician had a reputation as an animal lover;
however, they would have known him by the name Anthony Devolder (a name Santos used before entering politics).
As Boll reported, Santos started a GoFundMe campaign for Pitbull Sapphire.
"She doesn't deserve to die from this tumor," Santos wrote in a related Facebook post, according to CNN.
"Are you going to help this baby and his daddy stay together for a few more years?" The campaign ended up raising about $3,000.
However, when Osthoff then tried to get the money, the mood changed: Santos got angry and refused to hand over the money to Osthoff.
Eventually he stopped responding to calls from both veterans.
CNN quotes Osthoff as saying that Sapphire died six months after his last contact with Santos.
He tried to get the police involved.
But that didn't lead to anything.
Last December he then saw Santos' face on television - at that time it was gradually becoming known how much the politician Santos, who had just been elected to Congress, had embellished his CV.
Osthoff said he felt nauseous.
And Boll stated, "To have now been given a position where he would impact the lives of thousands of people... it's really disheartening to know."
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