‘PERSON IN CHARGE’

Former Roommate Says George Santos Led ATM Fraud Scheme

The roommate was convicted of fraud in 2017 and deported back to Brazil.

A Brazilian man who pleaded guilty to fraud in a 2017 ATM skimming scheme has alleged that the head honcho of the Seattle-based operation was none other than Rep. George Santos (R-NY). In a sworn declaration letter sent March 7 by Gustavo Ribeiro Trelha and obtained by Politico, Trelha reveals he recognized Santos on TV, but by one of his former aliases, Anthony Devolder (Santos’ full name is George Anthony Devolder Santos). “I am coming forward today to declare that the person in charge of the crime of credit card fraud when I was arrested was George Santos / Anthony Devolder,” he wrote. Trelha, who was deported for his crime, says he met Santos in Florida in 2016 when he rented a room from the future congressman, and it was there that Santos taught him how to skim card information and clone ATM and credit cards. He eventually flew to Seattle where the deal with Santos, Trelha alleges, was 50/50. “It didn’t work out so well, because I was arrested,” he says, claiming Santos even visited him in jail and “told me in jail not to say anything about him” while allegedly threatening him and stealing his bail money. Santos has not been convicted of any crimes in relation to the scheme, but U.S. state and federal agencies, as well as Brazilian authorities, are all investigating Santos for a number of potential financial crimes, Politico reported. A lawyer for Santos did not respond to multiple attempts by the outlet.