The FBI is investigating an online fundraiser led by embattled Rep. George Santos (R-NY) that is accused of stealing money from a Navy veteran’s dying service dog, according to a Wednesday report.
Two agents working on behalf of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York reached out to Richard Osthoff after allegations emerged that Santos, a freshman lawmaker who has been caught lying on numerous occasions, raised $3,000 for lifesaving stomach surgery for Osthoff’s pit bull mix but then fled with the funds.
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“I’m glad to get the ball rolling with the big-wigs,” Osthoff told Politico. “I was worried that what happened to me was too long ago to be prosecuted.”
Osthoff, a disabled veteran who had been given the pup, named Sapphire, by a veterans charity, said he was told the dog had developed a life-threatening stomach tumor that would cost $3,000 to fix. Osthoff, who was living in a tent in an abandoned chicken coop on the side of a road in New Jersey, was told by a veterinary technician that he knew of “a guy who runs a pet charity who can help you.”
That man’s name was said to be Anthony Devolder, the same moniker Santos used for years, and his pet charity was called Friends of Pets United.
Osthoff and retired police Sgt. Michael Boll tried to track down Santos after the New Yorker raised the $3,000 needed for Sapphire’s surgery but learned Santos had allegedly shut down the site and taken off with the money.
Osthoff was unable to come up with the funds needed to keep Sapphire alive. She died on Jan. 15, 2017. Osthoff had been out of work for more than a year and told Patch, which reported the story, he could not afford Sapphire’s euthanasia or cremation.
“I had to panhandle,” he said. “It was one of the most degrading things I ever had to do.”
Osthoff said he gave FBI agents access to texts he sent Santos in 2016.
Santos is facing multiple investigations after it was revealed he fabricated large chunks of his resume during his congressional campaign. Calls for him to resign from the House of Representatives have grown in the past few weeks.
New York Democratic Reps. Ritchie Torres and Daniel Goldman welcomed the news the FBI was looking into Santos, with Torres telling Politico that “only U.S. attorneys are capable of moving at the speed that’s necessary.”
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“There’s no one that poses a greater threat in Congress than Santos,” he added. “It’s undeniable that he’s broken the law. We have to protect Congress from George Santos, who threatens it from within.”
Calls to Santos’s office for comment were not returned.
