There is reason to believe that George Santos’s treasurer does not exist

There is reason to believe that Rep. George Santos’s treasurer does not exist and that Santos’s committees are violating the law by raising and spending money without a treasurer, according to a complaint filed today by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington with the FEC.

Andrew Olson, Santos’s listed treasurer, is not and has not been identified as a treasurer to any political committee outside of those connected to Santos. No one asked about it appears to know Olson, including those knowledgeable of political committee treasurers and New York Republican politics. His listed address on the FEC forms is the former address of Santos’s sister. He has not responded to any attempts to contact him through the means provided in the FEC filings.

“Given his struggles with the truth, much about Rep. Santos remains a mystery, but there’s no bigger mystery than his treasurer,” CREW President Noah Bookbinder said. “No one can seem to find Andrew Olson. If he does not exist, it would be an extreme abuse of our campaign finance system–one the FEC should not permit.”

After Santos’s original treasurer Nancy Marks quit, his political operation listed Thomas Datwyler as her replacement. Datwyler, however, said he was not the treasurer and that the signatures attributed to him were not authentic, and was replaced on filings by Olson. Without a treasurer, Santos is legally prohibited from raising and spending money.

“As we’ve seen, there are significant issues with Rep. Santos’s filings,” Bookbinder said. “His treasurer could be held liable for their accuracy. If there is not a treasurer to take responsibility, that undercuts our whole system of accountability. This must be immediately investigated.” 

Earlier today, Santos was indicted on 13 counts by the Department of Justice including on unrelated matters surrounding his campaign finance filings.