George Santos
George Anthony Devolder Santos is an American former politician and convicted felon. He served as the U.S. representative for from January to December 2023, before he was expelled from Congress.
Santos first ran for the seat in 2020 as a Republican, but was defeated by incumbent Democratic representative Tom Suozzi. After Suozzi opted against seeking re-election in 2022, Santos ran again and won, defeating Democrat Robert Zimmerman and becoming the first openly LGBTQ Republican elected to Congress as a freshman.
Within weeks of Santos's election, news outlets reported that much of his biography appeared to be fabricated. Santos admitted to having lied about his education and employment history, while his disclosures about his business activities, income, and personal wealth were inconsistent. Further, Santos had not disclosed his criminal history or the existence of lawsuits against him. Santos was sworn in as a member of the House in January 2023, but faced ongoing media scrutiny as well as demands for his resignation from members of both parties.
Following an investigation by the House Ethics Committee and a federal indictment, the House of Representatives voted 311–114 to expel Santos on December 1, 2023. Santos was the first member of Congress expelled without having previously been convicted of a crime or having supported the Confederacy. He is the sixth member of the House to be expelled and the first Republican. Santos pleaded guilty to identity theft and wire fraud in August 2024. He was sentenced to 87 months in prison in April 2025, which he began serving that July. In October 2025, President Donald Trump commuted Santos's sentence, making him eligible for immediate release.
Background and education
George Anthony Devolder Santos was born on July 22, 1988, to Fátima Alzira Caruso Horta Devolder and Gercino Antônio dos Santos Jr., both of whom were born in Brazil. He has a younger sister, Tiffany.His maternal grandparents, Paulo Horta Devolder and Rosalina Caruso Horta Devolder, were also born in Brazil. Three of his four maternal great-grandparents were also born in Brazil, with the other born in Belgium. His mother, Fátima Devolder, immigrated to Florida in 1985, working in agriculture. She later moved to New York City, working as a housekeeper, cook, and nanny. Gercino Santos was a house painter. Santos has claimed dual citizenship in the U.S. and Brazil. In 2013, a Brazilian court described him as American.
Santos has said his family was poor during his childhood, living in a rat-infested basement apartment in Jackson Heights, Queens, near a Brazilian immigrant enclave in Astoria. Relatives and friends recall that his parents and an aunt often bought him dolls, toys and clothes despite their money problems. His parents' marriage appears to have ended by 1998, when records in Gercino's native state of Minas Gerais show that he remarried there. Santos remained close to his mother and maintained infrequent contact with his father. According to a biographer, Santos developed a reputation within his family for deceit and theft during his childhood.
Santos holds a GED. He attended Primary School 122 in Astoria and Intermediate School 125 in Woodside, Queens.
In Brazil
Around 2008, George moved to Niterói in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Area, where his mother, Fátima, was then living, and lived there until 2011, although acquaintances of Santos from that period are unsure whether he lived in Brazil or merely visited. Many knew him as Anthony Devolder. Fátima lived in difficult circumstances, working odd jobs, moving around frequently due to unpaid rent, and obtaining electricity illegally. Santos told people his family had money because his father was a high-paid executive in New York.A friend from that time says Santos was very involved in local LGBT activism, handing out leaflets and regularly attending meetings of a local activist group and Pride parades. Two former acquaintances said that he competed as a drag queen in Brazilian beauty pageants in 2008 using the drag name Kitara Ravache, with one saying that Santos began dressing in drag in 2005. Manoel Antiqueira, who performs in drag as Eula Rochard, recalls Santos returning from a 2007 trip to the U.S. with expensive materials for a dress that were not available in Brazil at the time.
Santos denied having been a drag queen, calling the allegations "categorically false" and accusing the media of making "outrageous claims about my life"; two days later, he said, "No, I was not a drag queen in Brazil, guys. I was young and I had fun at a festival."
While in Brazil, Santos's politics were shaped by his family's support for right-wing politician Jair Bolsonaro, who later became Brazil's president. Santos supported Bolsonaro despite his open homophobia. The Santoses frequently disparaged Brazil's then-president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, on social media. After winning his House election, Santos posted a picture of himself with Bolsonaro's conservative ally Carla Zambelli.
Early career and entering politics
From October 2011 to July 2012, Santos worked as a customer service representative at a call center for Dish Network in College Point, Queens. Hired for his second-language skills, he handled calls from Portuguese-speaking customers.The New York Times verified that sometime after 2013, Santos worked for HotelsPro, a subsidiary of Turkey-headquartered MetGlobal.
Devolder Organization
Around the time he is reported to have left Harbor City Capital, Santos founded a limited liability company called the Devolder Organization, and his reported personal income rose substantially. The company had no public presence when major media investigations commenced, and Santos has given inconsistent explanations of its business.According to his financial disclosures, Santos was the sole owner and managing member, managing $80 million in assets. On financial disclosure forms, Santos called the organization a "capital introduction consulting" firm. Although based in New York, the company was registered in Florida, where it was dissolved in September 2022 for failing to file annual reports. Santos said that its accountant had missed the annual filing deadline. In 2022, the organization lent Santos's congressional campaign more than $700,000. Santos reported receiving a salary of $750,000 and dividends of $1–$5 million from the company, even though he also claimed that its estimated value was in the same range.
Despite his claims about the organization's size, Santos's financial disclosure forms listed no clients. In July 2022, Dun & Bradstreet estimated Devolder's revenue at less than $50,000. Santos listed himself as the registered agent for the LLC and listed Florida as his state of residence. The company's mailing address was a Merritt Island apartment
The House Ethics Committee's investigation found that Santos incorporated the LLC in May 2021, although he reported income from it on his 2020 income tax return. The committee found that when Santos applied for a business account, he told the bank that the organization made $800,000 in net profit every year and grossed $1.5 million; his May 2022 campaign financial disclosure said that the company's assets were in the $1-1.5 million range. The organization's 2021 financial statements showed $614 of income and over $14,000 of expenses, amounting to a loss exceeding $13,000, and at the time Santos filed the 2022 disclosure, there was $4 in the company bank account. The committee said that both Santos's personal and business accounts were used for a series of "significant" cash deposits followed by prompt cash withdrawals of similar amounts, and the source of the cash was unclear. The unexplained cash withdrawals amounted to over $240,000.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
2020 campaign
Santos ran as a Republican for the United States House of Representatives in, against Democratic incumbent Tom Suozzi, launching his campaign in November 2019. Normally, the Nassau County Republican Committee, known for the tight control that its leadership exercises over often competitive races for its nominations, would have discouraged an unknown candidate with such minimal experience. However, Suozzi was expected to win the race easily, and no other candidates had put their names forward. Santos raised funds, spoke to donor groups, and attended a phone-banking session at Mar-a-Lago with Donald Trump's children; his efforts impressed party officials. He bought entire tables at New York Young Republican events. Other candidates making the same rounds noticed that Santos repeatedly exaggerated his fundraising totals, with a wide contrast between what he said and what he reported in his campaign finance disclosure forms.Suozzi later recalled that he had no doubt he would defeat Santos, an unknown who was not well-funded and who at the time was registered to vote in an area of Queens that was outside the district. When reporters pressed him about living outside the district, Santos claimed an address that turned out to be his campaign treasurer's. Because Santos was so little-known in the district, the Suozzi campaign decided not to pay for opposition research, deciding that it would be counterproductive to increase his name recognition. As expected, Suozzi prevailed; he defeated Santos 56% to 43%. Despite Santos's loss, local Republicans were pleasantly surprised by his performance.
2022 campaign
Shortly after his loss to Suozzi, Santos formed GADS PAC, a leadership PAC, and began raising money to run for Congress again. Then-New York state Republican chair Nick Langworthy noted that "George never stopped being a candidate" and was "spending time at Mar-a-Lago, raising money in different circles". U.S. representative Elise Stefanik endorsed him in August 2021 and helped him raise over $100,000 at a fundraiser.Some Republicans had reservations about Santos. In mid-2021, one of his former advisors uncovered questionable business practices at Harbor City, but was unable to get press coverage. Late in the year, Santos's campaign commissioned a vulnerability study, which revealed significant issues. Some staff members advised him to drop out; instead, he dismissed the concerns and refused to show his diplomas, leading several staffers to resign. Those who stayed became increasingly concerned and asked him to seek professional help.
Despite internal concerns, Santos continued his campaign, donating $185,000 to the county Republican committee, which endorsed him. Suozzi announced he would not seek reelection to Congress in November 2021, improving Republicans' chances of winning the seat. Unopposed for the Republican nomination, Santos ran against Democrat Robert Zimmerman. Zimmerman's campaign had access to a lengthy opposition research file but chose to focus on voter outreach instead.
In September 2022, The North Shore Leader raised questions about Santos's employment, financial disclosures, and claims of wealth, but other media outlets did not report on the matter until after the election. Santos defeated Zimmerman by 20,420 votes, flipping the district and helping Republicans retake the House. After his victory, numerous outlets reported that much of Santos's biography appeared fabricated. Santos admitted to lying about his education and employment history, while his financial disclosures were inconsistent.