Questions continue to swirl about scandal-plagued Rep. George Santos (R-NY) as the identity of his new campaign treasurer is shrouded in mystery, reported CNN on Thursday.
"Andrew Olson, listed as treasurer of Santos’ federal political committees on February 21, does not serve as treasurer for any federal committees beyond those associated with the Republican congressman who represents parts of Nassau County, New York," reported Fredreka Schouten, Gregory Krieg, and Kara Scannell. "And election officials in New York say no one with that name is registered as treasurer of any political committee in the state. The address associated with Olson and Santos’ campaign is that of a mixed-use apartment and commercial building in Elmhurst, New York, where the congressman’s sister resided until earlier this year."
Mike Deery, the head of the Nassau County Republican Party, told CNN, “Do not know him. Have not heard of him.” And an assistant for Nancy Marks, the former treasurer of the Santos campaign, said they do know know who Olson is either.
This comes after a bizarre episode in which Santos announced the hiring of a new treasurer to replace Marks, only for that treasurer to clarify he had not accepted the job.
RELATED: George Santos busted for accepting apparently illegal campaign contribution
It also comes amid mounting investigations of Santos' campaign finance, which is littered with red flags.
Santos initially said in reports that he gave his campaign a $700,000 personal loan, only to admit in later filings that $500,000 of that money wasn't his, without explaining where that $500,000 came from or whether it was from a legal source. Meanwhile, his campaign reports list $365,000 in various small-figure payments to "Anonymous" — which isn't necessarily illegal but makes it hard to verify the spending is legitimate — and Florida reporter Aaron Leibowitz has flagged that some of the expenditures listed are impossible, like $99.99 charges to a Miami Beach parking lot that only charges in multiples of $20 or $6. Most worryingly, several of the people listed as donors in Santos' filings appear to be fictional, which raises the possibility Santos or an associate of his was laundering payments through shell donors, a federal crime.
According to a recent report, the Justice Department instructed the Federal Election Commission, which usually issues civil penalties for improper campaign finance, to refrain from sanctioning the Santos campaign, which experts have said is a sign that federal prosecutors are running a criminal investigation into the matter.
