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U.S. Rep. George Santos, the New York Republican infamous for fabricating his life story, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges he duped donors, stole from his campaign and lied to Congress about being a millionaire, all while cheating to collect unemployment benefits he didn't deserve. Afterward, he said wouldn't drop his reelection bid, defying calls to resign. Santos' 13-count federal indictment was a reckoning for a web of fraud and deceit that prosecutors say overlapped with his fantastical public image as a wealthy businessman — a fictional biography that began to unravel after he won election last fall. Santos, 34, was released on $500,000 bond following his arraignment, about five hours after turning himself in to authorities on Long Island to face charges of wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and making false statements to Congress. He could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. “This is the beginning of the ability for me to address and defend myself,” Santos told reporters afterward, vowing to clear his name and calling his prosecution a “witch hunt.” Santos had said little during his arraignment, which lasted about 15 minutes. His lawyer, Joseph Murray, asked the judge for permission for Santos to travel freely for his campaign, though he did surrender his passport. Santos said he was returning to Washington for votes Thursday. Among the allegations, prosecutors say Santos induced supporters to donate to a company under the false pretense that the money would be used to support his campaign. Instead, they say, he used the money for personal expenses, including designer clothes and his credit card and car payments. Santos also is accused of lying about his finances on congressional disclosure forms and applying for and receiving unemployment benefits while he was employed as regional director of an investment firm that the government shut down in 2021 over allegations that it was a Ponzi scheme. The indictment “seeks to hold Santos accountable for various alleged fraudulent schemes and brazen misrepresentations,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said. “Taken together, the allegations in the indictment charge Santos with relying on repeated dishonesty and deception to ascend to the halls of Congress and enrich himself." Reached by The Associated Press on Tuesday, Santos said he was unaware of the charges. Santos has defied calls to resign — some from fellow Republicans — as details of his fictitious resume came to light, though he did decline his committee assignments. He has given no indication that he plans to step aside because of his indictment. In the past, members of Congress in both parties have remained in office while facing charges. Santos, 34, was elected to Congress last fall after a campaign built partly on falsehoods. He told people he was a wealthy Wall Street dealmaker with a substantial real estate portfolio who had been a star volleyball player in college, among other things. In reality, Santos didn't work at the big financial firms he claimed had employed him, didn't go to college and struggled financially before his run for public office. He claimed he fueled his run largely with self-made riches, earned from brokering deals on expensive toys for wealthy clients, but the indictment alleges those boasts were also exaggerated. In regulatory filings, Santos claimed he loaned his campaign and related political action committees more than $750,000, but it was unclear how he would have come into that kind of wealth so quickly after years in which he struggled to pay his rent and faced multiple eviction proceedings. In a financial disclosure form, Santos reported making $750,000 a year from a family company, the Devolder Organization, but the charges unsealed Wednesday allege that Santos never received that sum, nor the $1 million and $5 million in dividends he listed as coming from the firm. Santos has described the Devolder Organization as a broker for sales of luxury items like yachts and aircraft. The business was incorporated in Florida shortly after Santos stopped working as a salesman for Harbor City Capital, the company accused by federal authorities of operating an illegal Ponzi scheme. In November 2021, Santos formed Redstone Strategies, a Florida company that federal prosecutors say he used to dupe donors into financing his lifestyle. According to the indictment, Santos told an associate to solicit contributions to the company and gave the person contact information for potential donors. Emails to prospective donors falsely claimed that the company was formed “exclusively” to aid Santos’ election bid and that there would be no limits on how much they could contribute, the indictment said. Santos falsely claimed that the money would be spent on television ads and other campaign expenses, it said. Last October, a month before his election, Santos transferred about $74,000 from company coffers to bank accounts he maintained, the indictment said. He also transferred money to some of his associates, it said. Many of Santos' fellow New York Republicans called on him to resign after his fabricated life story was revealed. Some renewed those calls after news of his indictment. "Sooner or later, whether he chooses to or not, both the truth and justice will be delivered to him,” said U.S. Rep. Marc Molinaro, a Republican representing parts of upstate New York. Sen. Mitt Romney, a Utah Republican who confronted Santos at President Joe Biden's State of the Union address in February, said Santos should have resigned a long time ago. “I think we’re seeing that the wheels of justice grind slow, but they grind fine,” Romney said. House Republican leaders Kevin McCarthy and Steve Scalise were more circumspect, saying Santos deserved a presumption of innocence until proven guilty. Santos has faced criminal investigations before. When he was 19, he was the subject of a criminal investigation in Brazil over allegations he used stolen checks to buy items at a clothing shop. Brazilian authorities said they have reopened the case. In 2017, Santos was charged with theft in Pennsylvania after authorities said he used thousands of dollars in fraudulent checks to buy puppies from dog breeders. That case was dismissed after Santos claimed his checkbook had been stolen, and that someone else had taken the dogs. Federal authorities have separately been looking into complaints about Santos' work raising money for a group that purported to help neglected and abused pets. One New Jersey veteran accused Santos of failing to deliver $3,000 he had raised to help his pet dog get a needed surgery. ___ Farnoush Amiri in Washington and Alanna Durkin Richer in Boston contributed to this report. ___ On Twitter, follow Jake Offenhartz at twitter.com/jangelooff and Michael Sisak at twitter.com/mikesisak and send confidential tips by visiting https://www.ap.org/tips/ ___ Follow the AP's coverage of U.S. Rep. George Santos at https://apnews.com/hub/george-santos. Read More Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Kevin McCarthy says he won’t support George Santos’s re-election bid after all The 13 counts New York representative George Santos faces McCarthy says he will not back George Santos re-election bid after arrest – live

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George Santos described criminal charges against him as a “witch hunt” in a defiant press conference following his arrest on Wednesday. The New York congressman spoke outside a federal courthouse after being arraigned on charges of fraud, theft of public funds and money laundering. “It’s a witch hunt,” he told a crowd of reporters. “I’m gonna fight my battle, I’m gonna deliver, I’m gonna fight the witch hunt, I’m gonna take care of clearing my name,” he said, adding that he was planning to run for reelection. The 34-year-old congressman for New York’s third district, who won his election after a campaign that was littered with lies about his past, was arrested shortly after 9am after turning himself in to authorities. In the 13-count indictment, federal prosecutors accused Mr Santos of lying on financial disclosure forms he filed to the House when he became a candidate, first by overstating his income from one job and failing to disclose income from another, and secondly by lying about his earnings from his company, the Devolder Organization. Prosecutors also allege that Mr Santos fraudulently used donations to his political campaign for his own benefit, spending “thousands of dollars of the solicited funds on personal expenses, including luxury designer clothing and credit card payments.” The indictment alleges that Mr Santos’s fraud began before his successful run for Congress, accusing him of running an unemployment insurance fraud scheme in which he applied for government assistance in New York while still employed by a Florida-based investment firm. “Taken together, the allegations in the indictment charge Santos with relying on repeated dishonesty and deception to ascend to the halls of Congress and enrich himself,” Breon Peace, the US attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement. Mr Santos pleaded not guilty to the charges and was released on a $500,000 bond following his arraignment, which lasted for around 15 minutes. His lawyer said that the congressman surrendered his passport to the court. Mr Santos could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Read More Here are the 13 counts New York Rep. George Santos faces George Santos pleads not guilty to duping donors, stealing campaign cash to burnish wealthy image George Santos pleads not guilty to 13 charges – live

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George Santos has been arrested after surrendering himself to authorities at a federal court on Long Island on Wednesday morning. The congressman for New York’s third district, who won his election after a campaign that was littered with lies about his past, was arrested shortly after 9am. He slipped past dozens of reporters to enter via a backdoor of the building. The indictment, which was unsealed on Wednesday, alleges a series of fraudulent schemes over several years. Mr Santos has been charged with seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds, and two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives. “Taken together, the allegations in the indictment charge Santos with relying on repeated dishonesty and deception to ascend to the halls of Congress and enrich himself,” Breon Peace, the US attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement. The arrest represents a rapid rise and fall for a man his own constituents decried as an “imposter,” but whom national Republicans utilised in order to bolster their narrow majority in the House. In the 13-count indictment, federal prosecutors accused Mr Santos of lying on financial disclosure forms he filed to the House when he became a candidate, first by overstating his income from one job and failing to disclose income from another, and secondly by lying about his earnings from his company, the Devolder Organization. Prosecutors also allege that Mr Santos fraudulently used donations to his political campaign for his own benefit, spending “thousands of dollars of the solicited funds on personal expenses, including luxury designer clothing and credit card payments.” The indictment alleges that Mr Santos’s fraud began before his successful run for Congress, accusing him of running an unemployment insurance fraud scheme in which he applied for government assistance in New York while still employed by a Florida-based investment firm. The sweeping charges follow a steady drumbeat of revelations about Mr Santos in the press dating back to his campaign. Mr Santos was elected to represent New York’s 3rd Congressional District in November 2022, defeating Democrat Robert Zimmerman by a margin of 54 per cent to 46 per cent. Soon after that victory, it emerged that Mr Santos had lied about much of his personal history and work experience. A New York Times investigation found that he had lied about working for Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, lied about the college he attended, fabricated an animal charity, that the company from which he had earned a salary of $750,000 and dividends of $1m did not have any online presence, lied about saying he lost four employees in the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida, in 2016, and that he faced criminal charges in Brazil for cheque fraud. The revelations set off a firestorm in his district. A local pressure group started by local citizens was formed with the aim of forcing Mr Santos from office. Concerned Citizens of NY03 held regular protests outside his campaign office and called on Republican leaders to expel him from Congress. But Republican House majority leader Kevin McCarthy — the person with the power to call the vote — refused to do so, instead leaving his fate to the House Ethics Committee. Reacting to news that charges were imminent on Tuesday, Mr McCarthy signalled that Mr Santos would be allowed to continue serving in Congress. “I’ll look at the charges,” he told reporters. “If a person is indicted, they’re not on committees. They have the right to vote, but they have to go to trial.” On Wednesday, Concerned Citizens of NY03 renewed their call for Mr McCarthy to expel Mr Santos. “The world has known for months that Santos is a liar, an imposter, a criminal. The only thing we didn’t know was which of his many crimes would be prosecuted first. It’s beyond time for Speaker Kevin McCarthy to withdraw his support for Santos and show him the door,” the group said in a statement. Since Mr Santos was sworn into office in January, revelations about his past have continued to emerge. The most recent report found that Mr Santos was charged with writing bad checks to purchase puppies from Amish farmers in 2017. That case was dismissed after Mr Santos claimed his checkbook had been stolen, and that someone else had taken the dogs. Mr Santos, 34, has apologised for what he described as “résumé embellishment,” but has refused to resign. Read More George Santos: Every lie disgraced Republican Congressman has been accused of making In George Santos’s district, setting of The Great Gatsby, cries of ‘imposter’ abound From resume lies to criminal charges: A timeline of George Santos’ many scandals Can George Santos still serve in Congress even if he is convicted? Kevin McCarthy dodges questions about George Santos and Donald Trump