(DailyVantage.com) – The former treasurer for U.S. Rep. George Santos’ campaign was arrested and pleaded guilty in federal court for providing false financial records related to campaign fundraising. He is facing up to four years behind bars after being indicted on fraud charges.
While entering the plea before U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert, Nancy Marks admitted to falsely reporting that Santos had loaned $500,000 of personal funds to his campaign, despite not having the funds to fulfill the made-up loan. Marks also claimed she provided a record of made-up donors to the Federal Elections Commission, which included members from Santos’ and Marks’ families, allowing the campaign to reach fundraising thresholds necessary to qualify for support from a national GOP committee. Marks explained how the bogus loans made Santos appear to have a well-funded campaign amongst party leaders, thus attracting more donors for his struggling campaign in the aftermath of his previous loss. Marks later told the judge that while all the names of the donors were real people, they did not permit her to use their names on forged campaign donation reports.
Records filed with the Federal Elections Commission state that Marks resigned from her position as treasurer in January, following accusations Santos had lied about his background and life experiences. After Mark’s resignation, Santos became treasurer of his own campaign.
Nancy Marks’ attorney, Ray Perini, accused Santos of mentally seducing his client. “There’s manipulation involved,” Perini told reporters outside the Long Island courthouse, adding it was related to her family and the death of her husband. While the judge did not require Marks to cooperate in the case against Santos, Perini insisted that his client would be open to testifying against Santos if requested to do so.
Rep. Santos pleaded not guilty to a 13-count federal indictment in May and remains free on a $50,000 bond.
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