- Santos and his team tried to defraud a campaign contributor, the NYT writes.
- They failed to pull off the scam, however.
About a year before George Santos was elected to the U.S. Congress, he and three other people tried to pull off a cryptocurrency version of the so-called “Nigerian letter” scam with a campaign contributor, The New York Times (NYT) reported.
He later told reporters that Santos and his aides approached him saying they were working with a wealthy Polish citizen who wanted to purchase cryptocurrency but could not do so because his bank accounts were frozen.
The name of the Polish investor and the reasons for the asset freeze were not disclosed, but Santos and his team asked the sponsor to set up a limited liability company to help them access the funds.
The proposal was very similar to the classic “Nigerian letter” scam, where a wealthy foreigner asks for help to access frozen assets, the publication points out. The sponsor requested more details, but Santos and his team immediately offered to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Later, when the person approached by the latter amended the agreement, negotiations broke down.
In March, Santos was arrested and charged with 13 felonies, including misrepresenting his income, receiving $24,00 in unemployment checks and embezzling $50,000 from political supporters. However, he pleaded not guilty and was released on $500,000 bail with certain conditions, including surrendering his passport and restrictions on travel to Long Island, New York and Washington, D.C.
Reminder, earlier, another congressman Warren Davidson opposed the development of the central bank’s digital currency. He accused the Federal Reserve of creating the “financial equivalent of the Death Star.”
He accused the Federal Reserve of creating the “financial equivalent of the Death Star.”