This morning we noted that incoming congressman and apparent flimflam artist George Santos (R-NY) has a rather sketchy background with numerous false claims in his bio and a company which dissolved for failure to file an annual report just three months ago. The story was first reported yesterday in a gobsmacking exposé in The New York Times.
Rep-Elect Santos had registered the Devolder Organization LLC in Florida back in May 2021. On his congressional disclosure form he reported $750,000 in income from the company and between $1 million and $5 million in dividends. This compares with $55,000 in income he reported two years earlier from a different employer when he ran for the same seat in 2020. But the company was dissolved in September 2022, the same month as the disclosure form was filed, because the company never filed an annual report. Just today, Florida records show that Santos has filed documents to have his company reinstated. You can see the filing below the fold.
What remains unclear is just what the Devolder Organization does or where its money comes from. In some accounts it appears to be the company Santos refers to as his family real-estate company. Other reports suggest it may be a consultancy. But the source of Santos’s riches and how he was able to loan his campaign $700,000 he was unlikely to get back remain a mystery at the center of this emerging story.
Ed Note: Special thanks to TPM Reader LL for flagging the new filing to my attention.