Several ‘Donors’ Listed by George Santos’ Campaign Don’t Seem to Exist, According to an Investigation by Mother Jones

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The ongoing saga of Rep. George Santos (R-NY) has entered a whole new phase and it could spell more trouble for the freshman congressman.

Elected in November, Santos has since been revealed to be a serial liar as he has shown to have falsified much of his life story, including his education and work histories, as well as his (nonexistent) Jewish heritage and his mother working in the World Trade Center during the 9/11 attacks.

Now, it appears his campaign reported donations from several “people” who do not actually exist, according to a report published Friday night by Mother Jones:

In September 2020, George Santos’ congressional campaign reported that Victoria and Jonathan Regor had each contributed $2,800—the maximum amount—to his first bid for a House seat. Their listed address was 45 New Mexico Street in Jackson Township, New Jersey.

A search of various databases reveals no one in the United States named Victoria or Jonathan Regor. Moreover, there is nobody by any name living at 45 New Mexico Street in Jackson. That address doesn’t exist. There is a New Mexico Street in Jackson, but the numbers end in the 20s, according to Google Maps and a resident of the street.

That’s not all. Mother Jones reported it could not confirm the existence of more than a dozen supposed donors to Santos’ 2022 campaign. That includes one benefactor listed as Stephen Berger:

Santos’ 2020 campaign finance reports also list a donor named Stephen Berger as a $2,500 donor and said he was a retiree who lived on Brandt Road in Brawley, California. But a spokesperson for William Brandt, a prominent rancher and Republican donor, tells Mother Jones that Brandt has lived at that address for at least 20 years and “neither he or his wife (the only other occupant [at the Brandt Road home]) have made any donations to George Santos. He does not know Stephen Berger nor has Stephen Berger ever lived at…Brandt Road.”

As the publication noted, it is illegal to make campaign contributions under a false name. Mother Jones reported that more than $30,000 of the $338,000 the campaign raised from individuals came from names whose veracities cannot be confirmed.

The report further stated that of the 45 or so people who contributed the maximum amount of $2,800 to the campaign, nine of those could not be contacted because no one with those names live at the addresses listed. Additionally, “None had ever contributed to a candidate before sending Santos the maximum amount allowed, according to FEC records.”

Mother Jones documented other instances of seemingly sketchy donations, including one from a name that matches that of a Brazilian soccer player. In that case, too, the listed address doesn’t exist.

In another instance, an alleged retiree who donated to Santos’ campaign has an address on the nonexistent “West Fingerboard Road” in New York City.

The report comes the same day the Washington Post reported that the Department of Justice asked the Federal Election Commission, which oversees campaign finance, to “hold off on any enforcement action” regarding Santos while it conducts a criminal investigation.

Aside from the lies about his biography, Santos faces serious questions about his finances. He loaned his campaign $705,000 just two years after he reported no assets and a $55,000 salary on a disclosure form in 2020.