A former staff member for embattled GOP Rep. George Santos was indicted for allegedly impersonating Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to raise funds for his boss.
The employee, Samuel Miele, was charged with aggravated identity theft and four counts of wire fraud. The suspect was arraigned on the indictment on Wednesday in federal court in Brooklyn and pleaded not guilty to the charges. Authorities released the defendant on $150,000 bail.
George Santos Staffer Indicted
In a statement, Miele's attorney, Kevin Marino, said his client was not guilty of any charges against him. He added that the former Santos staff member looked forward to completing vindication at trial as soon as possible.
On the other hand, prosecutors argued that Miele sent several emails and made various phone calls where he sought campaign contributions while claiming himself to be a "high ranking aide to a member of the House with leadership responsibilities, as per ABC News.
While the indictment against Miele does not identify the House member, sources said it was House Speaker McCarthy. The former Santos staff member was previously the subject of a similar Federal Elections Commission complaint in February.
In May, Miele pleaded not guilty to a 13-count indictment that accused him of fraud, money laundering, and theft of public funds. He was subsequently fired after Santos discovered the actions that he conducted.
In a statement in January, McCarthy said that his staff raised concerns when a member impersonated his chief of staff. But on Wednesday, a spokesman for the House speaker did not respond to a message seeking comments on the latest development.
The indictment said that Miele sent emails using an account with a Republican staff member's full name and signed his messages using that individual's official title. According to the New York Times, the wire fraud charges against Miele related to specific emails that he sent between August and October 2021.
Impersonating Kevin McCarthy
The ones who filed the latest indictment against Miele were also responsible for filing wire fraud charges against Santos separately. On Wednesday, lawyers filed a letter advising the court that the two cases should be presumed to be related due to the facts of one arising out of overlapping events.
The Republican representative was charged with 13 counts, including money laundering, wire fraud, theft of public funds, and false statements. These came after an investigation into his finances that started last year, and he has pleaded not guilty to the allegations.
The indictment also said that Miele allegedly wrote an email sent to Santos where he supposedly admitted "faking my identity to a big donor" and added that he was "high risk, high reward in everything I do."
The situation adds to the controversies surrounding Rep. Santos after he was found to have fabricated most of his resume. He was subsequently removed from committee assignments but has refused to move against a congressman who supported him through 15 votes for speaker, saying that they should allow the investigations to continue, said The Guardian.
Related Article : Biden's Climate Law Debated by Republicans, Democrats
