GOP Rep. George Santos, N.Y., claims allegations he used a fake animal charity to scam a disabled veteran by raising money for their dog’s cancer treatment, only to keep the funds himself, are not true.
Santos said he has no knowledge of the purported scheme involving a charity he claimed to have founded.
“Fake. No clue who this is,” Santos told Semafor.
U.S. Navy veteran Richard Osthoff told Patch.com that he came into contact with an animal charity called “Friends of Pets United” after he learned it would cost $3,000 for surgery for his service dog, a pit bull mix named Sapphire who had developed a life-threatening stomach tumor.
GOP Rep. George Santos, N.Y., claims allegations he used a fake animal charity to scam a disabled veteran by raising money for their dog’s cancer treatment, only to keep the funds himself, are not true.
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
A veterinary technician had told him they knew someone who ran the charity that could help raise money. Osthoff was informed that the charity was run by Anthony Devolder, an alias Santos allegedly used for years before entering politics in 2020.
Osthoff and another veteran, retired police Sgt. Michael Boll, who tried to intervene to help Osthoff in 2016, claimed a GoFundMe page that raised the necessary funds for the dog’s surgery was shut down by Santos and that the now-congressman then disappeared with the…
