George Santos accused of scamming disabled NJ veteran

Embattled New York congressman George Santos says he has "no clue" who Richard Osthoff is.

Osthoff is a US Navy Veteran who lives in Freehold. He says he met Santos in 2015, although at the time Santos was going by the name Anthony Devolder.

It was Devolder (Santos) who promised to help him raise money for his ailing dog, Sapphire, who had developed a large tumor and needed life saving surgery.

Osthoff was homeless and living in a tent in Howell, and welcomed the help. Sapphire was his beloved companion and emotional support animal.

Devolder, Osthoff claims, set up a GoFundme page and pledged $3,000 for the surgery.

The money was never sent, and Osthoff says Sapphire had to be put down a few months later.

The allegations of fraud were first reported by Patch and have since been picked up by various news outlets. Santos' office has refused comment, and Santos himself has not commented except in a text message to the news outlet Semafor.

In that text, Santos called the allegations "fake," and of Osthof, "No clue who this is."

Santos has been under fire and branded a liar by Democrats and members of his own Republican party. Much of his resume' has been shown to be fake, and new allegations have surfaced about Santos making up a story about his mother surviving the 9/11 attacks.

A growing number of Republicans have called for Santos to resign. New House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has stopped short of that, but told reporters on Monday, "I never knew about his résumé or not, but I always had a few questions about it."

Eric Scott is the senior political director and anchor for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at eric.scott@townsquaremedia.com

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