Grifters Gotta Grift

“I swear on any one of my mother’s many graves that I am telling the truth.”

As long as we’re already talking about the long reach of the law and Republicans, notable Republican fabulist Rep. George Santos might be in some serious trouble:

George Santos masterminded 2017 ATM fraud, former roommate tells feds

NEW YORK – Rep. George Santos orchestrated a 2017 credit card skimming operation in Seattle, the man who was convicted of the fraud and deported to Brazil said in a sworn declaration submitted to federal authorities Wednesday.

“I am coming forward today to declare that the person in charge of the crime of credit card fraud when I was arrested was George Santos / Anthony Devolder,” Gustavo Ribeiro Trelha wrote in the declaration. It was sent by express mail and email to the FBI, the U.S. Secret Service New York office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of New York, according to a copy of the receipt from the United States Postal Service.

Ribeiro left out the alias of drag queen Kitara Ravache, but the list of Santos’ IDs is long. We forgive him.

“Santos taught me how to skim card information and how to clone cards. He gave me all the materials and taught me how to put skimming devices and cameras on ATM machines,” Trelha said in the declaration that was submitted to authorities by his New York attorney, Mark Demetropoulos. POLITICO obtained a copy of the declaration.

And this is my favorite part, and it is so over-the-top it sounds absolutely like Santos’ M.O.

Trelha told POLITICO that before flying to Seattle, Santos had traveled to Orlando to pick up $20,000 in cash he instructed Leide Oliveira Santos, another roommate, to give him from a safe. Santos had promised to hire El Chapo’s lawyer for Trelha, he said… Trelha realized he had been conned, he said, when no lawyer appeared — let alone El Chapo’s.

Now, of course, all of this happened in 2017, and I have no idea what the statute of limitations is (and that depends upon whatever the charges might be), but it sounds serious.

And then there’s this:

Trelha said Santos visited him in jail in Seattle, but told him not to implicate him in the scheme.

That’s obstruction of justice and it clearly happened later so maybe that is prosecutable still?

We know if Santos was a Democrat, the Party would have thrown him out by now, but instead K-Mac needs the votes, so let’s enjoy the entire Republican apparatus try to look the other way.

Quatloos anyone? The house bets that we will see Santos on a lot of ads in 2024.