George Santos was 'in charge' of a credit card fraud scheme, former roommate alleged, contradicting what the congressman previously said about his role in the case: report
Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
- George Santos's former roommate alleged that the congressman was in charge of an ATM fraud scheme.
- The former roommate alleged that Santos taught and provided "all the material" for the scheme.
- Santos previously told a friend that he was an "informant" for the case, Politico reported.
A former roommate of Rep. George Santos is claiming that the New York congressman was 'in charge' of a fraudulent credit card operation that took place out of Florida, according to a sworn declaration that was obtained and first reported on by Politico.
The former roommate, Gustavo Ribeiro Trelha, was convicted and deported to Brazil for his involvement in the scheme in 2017. His letter, dated Wednesday, was sent by his attorney and addressed to the FBI, the Eastern District New York court, and the US Secret Service.
"Santos taught me how to skim card information and how to clone cards," Trelha said in the sworn statement. "He gave me all the material and taught me how to put skimming devices and cameras on ATM machines."
Santos's attorney, Joseph Murray, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to the declaration, Trelha met Santos around 2016 when he began renting a room out of Santos's apartment in Florida. At the time, Trelha knew Santos as Anthony Devolder. The congressman's full name is George Anthony Devolder Santos.
It's around then when Santos began teaching him about the inner workings of an ATM and credit card scheme, Trelha said.
"Santos had a warehouse located on Kirkman Road in Orlando, Florida," Trelha alleged. "He had a lot of material — parts, printers, blank ATM and credit cards to be painted and engraved with stolen account and personal information. Santos gave me at his warehouse, some of the parts to illegally skim credit card information."
The attorney who helped Trelha file the sworn declaration did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment.
When Trelha was arrested in 2017, the former roommate alleged in the statement that Santos visited him in a Seattle jail.
"He told me in jail not to say anything about him," Trelha wrote. "Santos threatened my friends in Florida that I must not say that he was my boss."
Trelha's declaration appears to contradict Santos's previous characterization not only of their relationship but also of the congressman's role in the scheme.
In an interview with Politico, Santos's lawyer friend, Tiffany Bogosian, said that Santos told her his role in the scheme was as an "informant."
Santos also told a Seattle judge during Trelha's hearing that the roommate was actually a "family friend."
Trelha spent seven months in jail before he was deported to Brazil in 2018.
"Santos did not help me to get out of jail," Trelha alleged. "He also stole the money that I had collected for my bail."
Santos's tenure as a freshman congressman has been plagued by allegations of his elaborate lies, a GoFundMe scam, and a theft charge that was dropped in 2020, among other scandals — some of which are now a part of ongoing investigations.
Politico reported how Santos was charged with theft in 2017 and accused of writing back checks worth thousands of dollars that were meant to be sent to Amish dog breeders in Pennsylvania. The charge was dismissed and expunged from his record after Santos claimed his checkbook was stolen, Politico reported.