Representative George Santos (R-NY) has been accused of orchestrating a credit card skimming operation according to a sworn statement by his former roommate.
Gustavo Ribeiro Trelha, who said he rented a room from Santos in Florida, plead guilty to federal credit card fraud in 2017. He served seven months in prison before he was deported to Brazil.
Through a statement sent to the FBI, which was obtained by Politico, Trelha accused Santos of being the true mastermind behind a scheme to steal information from ATM and credit cards.
“Santos taught me how to skim card information and how to clone cards. He gave me all the material and taught me how to put skimming devices and cameras on ATM machines,” Trelha said.
He alleged Santos had a warehouse in Orlando, Florida at the time where he housed materials to be used for the scheme, such as blank cards that could be engraved with stolen information.
After learning the moves from Santos, Trelha said he then flew to Seattle where he was caught on camera engaging with a skimming device on a Chase ATM.
His statement said his “deal with Santos was 50% for him and 50% for me.”
“We used a computer to be able to download the information on the pieces. We also used an external hard drive to save the filming, because the skimmer took the information from the card, and the camera took the password,” he wrote.
“It didn’t work out so well, because I was arrested,” he said.
Trelha claimed Santos visited him in jail, but warned Trelha not to implicate him.
“Santos threatened my friends in Florida that I must not say that he was my boss,” he wrote in the letter.
Santos does appear in an audio recording from Trelha’s May 15, 2017 arraignment, where he tells the judge he’s a “family friend” who could secure temporary housing for Trelha should be he released on bail.
Trelha was ultimately unable to post bail.
“Santos did not help me to get out of jail. He also stole the money that I had collected for my bail,” Trelha told federal investigators in the statement.
“I am available to speak with any American government investigator,” Trelha wrote before providing his contact information to conclude the letter.
what is that crook doing in Congress? Lock that thief up and throw the key away.
He is a real rotten apple.
Another phony R who is really a demoncRAT. Lock him up.