He was renamed the Mysterious Republican for the shadows that emanate from his alleged past. His real name is George Santos and his election to Congress in the Democratic stronghold of New York was one of the “coups” by which the old big party wrested the narrow majority in the House of Representatives from its Democratic rivals. The 34-year-old freshman built his candidacy on the idea of ​​being the “full embodiment of the American Dream” and has proposed himself as its corporate trustee.

He is the son of Brazilian immigrants and the first openly gay Republican to win a House seat as a challenger. His training at a New York City public university, ‘Baruch College’, where he graduated in 2010, allowed him to be launched into the magical world of Wall Street, establishing himself as a ‘financial expert and investor’ with a family portfolio of 13 properties. He is also the owner of the Animal Welfare Association, thanks to which he has saved more than 2,500 dogs and cats.

It’s all on paper, though, because according to a survey he conducted The New York TimesHowever, contradictions, falsehoods, and ambiguities emerge from his approach. Citigroup and Goldman Sachs whose bios appear on it deny that he worked with them, while Baruch College officials have been unable to locate anyone whose name and date of birth matches who graduated that year. Nor is the American taxman who could find no trace of the charity Pet Friends United. His financial disclosure forms hint at a life of some wealth, but his company, Devolder Organization, which has no public website or LinkedIn page, remains shrouded in mystery. And if Santos describes the family fortune in real estate, he warns times There will be no records of his possessions.

The only certainty regarding the new representative is that he will win New York’s boroughs, North Long Island and Northeast Queens, which were formerly Democrats’ prerogatives. A bolt from the blue for the ass party given that Santos was “smashed” in 2020 in the same district against Tom Sozzi, then the Democrat in office, and even in the mid-term, the challenger seemed destined to capitulate again. More so because of his relationship with Donald Trump. Enigma to add to the already long list.

His appearance earlier this month at a Manhattan party attended by white nationalists and right-wing conspiracy theorists confirmed his ties to the former president’s right-wing base. At the same time, new discoveries have been made before timesThe New York Times warns, including the omission of key information about Santos’ personal financial disclosures and criminal fraud charges in Brazil, “could be grounds for ethical and possibly legal challenges once he takes office.”

Santos did not respond to repeated requests from New York timeTo submit dated documents or CVs that will help substantiate the allegations he made during the campaign. He also declined to be interviewed, and neither his attorney nor Big Dog Strategies, a Republican-leaning policy advisory group, answered a detailed list of questions. Instead, the attorney for the newly elected, Joe Murray, declared, “It is not surprising that Congressman-elect Santos would have enemies in the country.” The New York Times ready to discredit him with these defamatory accusations.