The FBI has spoken to the Navy veteran who claims disgraced Long Island Rep. George Santos conned him out of thousands of dollars meant to go toward saving his dying service dog, according to a report.
Two agents reached out to Richard Osthoff on Wednesday as part of the Brooklyn US Attorney’s probe into the lying Republican lawmaker, according to Politico.
Osthoff alleged last month that in 2016, Santos set up a GoFundMe for Osthoff’s beloved service dog, Sapphire, in order to help pay for surgery to remove a tumor. But when the fundraiser hit its goal of $3,000, Santos closed and deleted the fundraising page, became hard to reach, and made off with the money.
Santos, who went by the name Anthony Devolder at the time, allegedly set up the fundraiser for Sapphire through Friends of Pets United, which the New York Times reported is not a registered charity.
Osthoff reportedly provided the FBI agents with text messages between him and Santos from 2016.
âIâm glad to get the ball rolling with the big-wigs,â Osthoff told Politico on Wednesday. âI was worried that what happened to me was too long ago to be prosecuted.â
Sapphire died from the tumor in 2017, which Osthoff said left him suicidal.Â
Santos, 34, has denied Osthoffâs allegation.
âThe reports that I would let a dog die is shocking & insane. My work in animal advocacy was the labor of love & hard work. Over the past 24hr I have received pictures of dogs I helped rescue throughout the years along with supportive messages. These distractions wonât stop me!â the freshman lawmaker wrote in a January tweet.
Santos admitted to The Post on Dec. 26 that he lied to New Yorkâs 3rd District voters about his work history, education, and religion, among other things.Â
âI am not a criminal,â Santos insisted at the time.
On Tuesday, Santos announced that he is stepping away from his congressional committee assignments to avoid becoming a further âdistractionâ for House Republicans.
Last week, the Department of Justice reportedly asked the Federal Election Commission to hold off on any enforcement action against the sketchy congressman as federal investigators continue their criminal probe into Santos.
Santos is being investigated at the county, state, and federal level â with investigators reportedly keen on learning more about more than $700,000 initially listed in campaign finance documents as personal loans to his campaign.Â
The post FBI investigating George Santos over alleged sick service dog scam: report appeared first on New York Post.
