George Santos Once Charged With Passing Bad Checks to Dog Breeders in Amish Country

Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) has yet another blemish on his record. Politico reported on Thursday that the serial liar was charged with theft in 2017 after bad checks in his name were given to dog breeders in Pennsylvania Amish Country.

After checks totaling $15,125 were used to pay for “puppies,” Santos organized an adoption event at Staten Island pet store. Friends of Pets of United, his animal rescue charity, was involved, according to the report. That charity is being scrutinized by the FBI after a veteran claimed Santos scammed him out of money intended for surgery on his service dog, which later died.

Santos had the charge in Amish Country dismissed after claiming his checkbook was stolen. His record was expunged on Nov. 24, 2021.

Santos is currently under federal criminal investigation in part for his financial dealings, The New York Times reported in late December, as it’s unclear where he came up with the $700,000 campaign finance reports show that he lent his congressional campaign. Santos’ fabrications of many aspects of his background, like his education, employment and ethnicity, are also being examined by the district attorney’s office in Nassau County, where he was elected last November. The Nassau County Republican Committee has since called for his resignation, as has the New York state Republican Party.

Santos relinquished his committee assignments late last month in light of the self-imposed controversy, but he’s still being hounded by the press — and even by fellow Republicans. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) confronted Santos at the State of the Union address on Tuesday. “You don’t belong here,” Romney reportedly told Santos. “Go tell that to the 142,000 that voted for me,” Santos replied, despite the fact that those 142,000 New Yorkers actually voted for a fabricated person Santos invented.

He’s “a sick puppy,” Romney later told reporters.