Rep. George Santos was bailed out by his father and aunt in federal fraud case

Santos was released on bond on May 10 after pleading not guilty to wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and more

Indicted Congressman George Santos was bailed out by his father and aunt,

who secured the $500,000 bond in his federal fraud case, according to unsealed court records.

The Long Island Republican on Thursday lost his battle to keep his suretors secret when the federal judge assigned to his case unsealed the documents related to his bond.

Santos’ claims through his lawyer that he’d rather go to jail to protect their identities turned out to be the latest blast of hot air from the first-term congressman who lied about his education, religion, family history, professional experience and property ownership during his 2022 campaign.

“It is disingenuous for Defendant to maintain that the self-characterized media frenzy, or the purported vitriolic reactions which Defendant encountered surrounding his Indictment, risk inhibiting the suretors’ ability to fulfill their supervisory role,” Judge Joanna Seybert said in her order to unseal the names, which was made public at noon.

“Given the facts and circumstances of this case, disclosure of the family-member Suretors’ identities is necessary to quell the speculations surrounding the granting of defendant’s release bond, thereby outweighing the speculative privacy concerns raised by Defendant.”

Santos’ father, Gercino dos Santos, and his aunt, Elma Preven, signed an unsecured bond for his release, meaning they didn’t have to put up property as collateral. They don’t have to put up the money up front, but they’re on the hook to pay up if he skips court.

Both relatives live in Jackson Heights, Queens, and have contributed thousands of dollars to Santos’ political campaigns.

Donor records show his father, who donated $7,850 between 2020 to 2022, has listed his occupation as a retired painter and construction worker for a company called JTC Painting. His aunt donated $5,150 in 2020 and 2021 and listed her occupation as a United States Postal Service mail handler.

Attempts to reach them were unsuccessful Thursday.

Santos was released on bond on May 10 after pleading not guilty to wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and making false statements to Congress. But his suretors never appeared in open court to sign his bond, sparking speculation over whether any lobbyists or murky financiers may have bailed him out to curry his favor.

The allegations against Santos include a 2020 scheme to collect COVID-related unemployment funds while working as an investment firm director; a campaign finance fraud operation in which he used donor money to buy designer clothes and pay his personal debts; and a string of lies to Congress about his assets and income.

Santos’ lawyer, Joseph Murray, said in court filings that one of the initial three suretors Santos lined up had a change of heart after news of his indictment broke before it was unsealed.

Federal Magistrate Judge Anne Shields ordered Santos released before his suretors co-signed on his bond — a break from judicial norms — and Murray later said in court filings that he made “confidential arrangements” with Shields and Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Bagnuola.

Those arrangements involved a hearing on May 15, five days after Santos’ release, away from the public eye.

Several media outlets quickly cried foul, pointing out that the identity of Santos’ suretors was a matter of public interest and that Santos shouldn’t be given special treatment, citing First Amendment concerns.

Shields ordered the names released on June 6, but Santos appealed that decision to Seybert, who issued her ruling Tuesday.

Though Shields initially sealed the names at Santos’ request to “accommodate their privacy concerns,” she backtracked after media outlets objected, citing a similar decision made earlier this year at the media’s request to name who signed fallen FTX founder Samuel Bankman-Fried’s $250 million bond.

“The suretors’ privacy rights are undoubtedly outweighed by the weight of the right of access,” she wrote on June 6.

She also put a pin in Murray’s statement that Santos would go to jail to keep the names private.

“If the suretors no longer wish to serve as suretors, Defendant can communicate this fact by way of a motion to modify the conditions of his release,” she wrote. “Any such motion does not, however, address the public’s right to know the identity of the suretors at this stage of the proceedings.”