George Santos fundraiser charged with impersonating House leadership aide

Samuel Miele, a fundraiser for embattled Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), was indicted on allegations he had impersonated a top aide to a member of House leadership while soliciting donations for Santos’s campaign.

Miele is charged with four counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

A federal grand jury sitting in Brooklyn returned the indictment on Tuesday and it was unsealed on Wednesday, court records show.

While the documents do not identify the impersonated aide’s name or the lawmaker they work for, a complaint filed with the Federal Election Commission in February accused Miele of impersonating Dan Meyer, who previously served as chief of staff to Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).

The complaint, filed by End Citizens United, said Miele impersonated Meyer during the 2020 and 2022 election cycles “for the purpose of soliciting financial contributions to Santos’s campaign.” Meyer at the time was chief of staff to then-House Minority Leader McCarthy.

In the indictment, the aide is described as a “High-ranking aide to a member of the House with leadership responsibilities.”

The indictment is the latest piece of legal trouble surrounding Santos. He was indicted on 13 federal charges in May on allegations he misled donors and misrepresented his finances to the public and government agencies. The congressman pleaded not guilty.

Santos is only identified as “Candidate #1” in Miele’s charging documents, but prosecutors filed a letter in Santos’s criminal case indicating the new charges are related.

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