Justice Department Files Federal Charges Against Republican Congressman George Santos

By Ken Dilanian, Ryan J. Reilly, Jonathan Dienst and Zoë Richards - NBC News

Justice Department prosecutors have filed federal charges against Congressman George Santos, two sources familiar with the case told NBC News, in the most significant escalation in a growing number of investigations that have plagued the first-term lawmaker since his office.

The 34-year-old Republican Rep. from New York, who has faced legal and political pressure to resign his congressional seat after he admitted he had lied about parts of his past, is the focus of multiple investigations into his finances and other issues.

No court documents associated with the case are immediately available. CNN was the first to report on the charges.

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In December, two federal law enforcement sources confirmed that federal investigators in the Eastern District of New York had opened a probe into Santos and were examining his finances, including potential irregularities related to his financial disclosures and loans he made to his campaign.

Santos did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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Santos announced his re-election campaign last month, despite inquiries into several allegations against him in New York state, in addition to that carried out by the House Ethics Committee.

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The House panel announced in early March that it had opened an investigation into whether Santos had "engaged in illegal activities" while campaigning for Congress, or if he had "failed to disclose information required in statements filed in the House."

The panel also said it would examine whether Santos had violated federal conflict-of-interest laws, as well as allegations of sexual misconduct against him by a potential aide.

A Navy veteran who accused Santos of disappearing with thousands of dollars from an online fundraiser intended to cover the costs of life-or-death surgery for his service dog also said he had spoken to the FBI about his allegations.

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The Nassau County district attorney's office said in December it was also investigating "various fabrications and inconsistencies" about Santos' past, after The New York Times discovered a number of inconsistencies in his biography, including about his education, work history and financial operations. The New York State Attorney General's Office said that same month that it was "looking into a number of matters" regarding Santos.

Although he has refused to resign from Congress, the Republican congressman said in late January that he would recuse himself from a couple of issues in the Small Business and Science committees amid the investigations.