George Santos denies swindling a disabled veteran while their dog died of a tumor

George Santos claims he has no knowledge of a purported scheme in which he allegedly used a fake animal charity to scam a disabled veteran by raising money for their sick dog’s cancer treatment and then disappearing with the funds.

“Fake,” Santos texted Semafor. “No clue who this is.”

The accusations, detailed in a story on Patch.com that contained alleged text messages and social media exchanges with Santos, are perhaps the darkest turn yet in the Congressman's story.

U.S. Navy veteran Richard Osthoff and another veteran told the outlet that, while homeless, he reached out to “Friends of Pets United,” a group Santos claimed to have founded, to help raise money for his service dog, Sapphire, who had developed a stomach tumor.

After connecting with “Anthony Devolder,” a known alias of Santos, Osthoff said a GoFundMe organized through the group raised the necessary money — $3,000 — to perform the needed surgery. But “Devolder” made excuses instead, claiming that the disease was untreatable after consulting with an affiliated veterinarian and that the money would go to his charity instead, even as Osthoff begged him to let him take the funds to other clinics.




https://www.semafor.com/article/01/17/2023/george-santos-denies-swindling-a-disabled-veteran-while-their-dog-died-of-cancer