“His resume is getting much better”: George Santos ATM scandal explored as former roommate makes explosive revelation 

Controversial Rep. George Santos has been accused of organizing a 2017 credit card skimming operation in Seattle. The allegations have been made by his former roommate, Gustavo Ribeiro Trelha, who was charged with fraud and deported to Brazil over the same scandal.

As per a copy of the receipt from the United States Postal Service obtained by Politico, Trelha's declaration was sent by his New York attorney, Mark Demetropoulos, via express mail and email to the FBI, the U.S. Secret Service New York office, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of New York.

In the sworn declaration, Trelha alleged that Santos was in charge of the 2017 ATM scandal:

“I am coming forward today to declare that the person in charge of the crime of credit card fraud when I was arrested was George Santos / Anthony Devolder.”

The man reportedly told officials that he decided to contact law enforcement authorities after seeing Santos on TV. He also alleged that the Congressman taught him the entire skimming process:

“Santos taught me how to skim card information and how to clone cards. He gave me all the materials and taught me how to put skimming devices and cameras on ATM machines.”

In a CBS News report published in February, the Secret Service questioned George Santos about the ATM skimming scandal in 2017. The politician became part of the investigation after his Florida address was discovered in a rental car used by the suspect in the fraud scheme:

“Santos voluntarily surrendered two cellphones at the Secret Service's New York field office, where the interview took place.”

However, the Republican was not identified as a suspect in the 2017 investigation as law enforcement authorities could not find “enough evidence to associate Santos as an accomplice,” per CBS.

As the latest controversy surrounding George Santos surfaced online, social media users mocked the Republican by saying his resume is "getting better" with each new revelation about his questionable past:

Prior to the new scandal, the house ethics panel reportedly launched an investigation into Santos last week to explore possible “unlawful activity” related to his congressional run.

The politician has long been under scrutiny for embellishing his resume and admitting to lying about his education, professional history, financial records, and his Jewish heritage, among others.

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What did Gustavo Ribeiro Trelha say about George Santos' role in the 2017 ATM fraud?

George Santos's former roommate Gustavo Ribeiro Trelha opened up about the allegations against the former in his declaration as well as his interview with Politico.

Trelha said he met Santos in the fall of 2016 in a Facebook group for Brazilians living in Orlando. The following month, Trelha reportedly rented a room in Santos’ Winter Park apartment and allegedly learned about ATM and credit card fraud from the politician:

“That is when and where I learned from him how to clone ATM and credit cards."

Trelha claimed that George Santos had a warehouse on Kirkman Road in Orlando where he stored the skimming equipment:

“He had a lot of material — parts, printers, blank ATMs and credit cards to be painted and engraved with stolen account and personal information."

He also alleged that Rep. gave him "some of the parts to illegally skim credit card information" at the warehouse. Trelha claimed Santos also taught him to use card skimming and cloning machines after providing the equipment.

As per legal reports, Trelha flew to Seattle to carry out the operation but was caught on a security camera while removing a skimming device from a Chase ATM on Pike Street, according to law enforcement records. He was arrested on April 27.

Documents showed that the man had a fake Brazilian ID card and 10 suspected fraudulent cards in his hotel room at the time of his arrest. Officials also found an empty FedEx package in his rental car that was sent from the Winter Park address he shared with Santos.

On Wednesday, Gustavo Ribeiro Trelha told the authorities that his “deal with Santos was 50% for him and 50% for me.” He also detailed the fraud scheme and said:

“We used a computer to be able to download the information on the pieces. We also used an external hard drive to save the filming, because the skimmer took the information from the card, and the camera took the password. It didn’t work out so well, because I was arrested.”

The man also claimed that George Santos visited him in prison in Seattle but ordered him not to mention his name:

“Santos threatened my friends in Florida that I must not say that he was my boss.”

Trelha shared that he eventually agreed to say he was working for someone in Brazil instead of mentioning Santos’ name as he was worried the latter would deport his friends in Orlando. He claimed that Santos also warned that he could “make things worse for him” since he was in prison and Santos was a U.S. citizen.

In his declaration, the suspect mentioned that he was unable to post the $75,000 bail and pleaded guilty to felony access device fraud. He also served seven months in jail before being deported to Brazil in early 2018:

“Santos did not help me to get out of jail. He also stole the money that I had collected for my bail.”

In his interview with Politico, Trelha claimed that prior to the Seattle heist, George Santos traveled to Orlando to pick up $20,000 in cash, which he instructed another roommate, Leide Oliveira Santos, to give him from a safe.

He alleged that the politician pledged to hire El Chapo’s lawyer for him. Another roommate from the Winter Park apartment told also told Politico that Oliveira told him Santos came to get money for Trelha.

The anonymous roommate also stated that Trelha reportedly “never heard from Santos” and later learned from Oliveira that his attempts to contact Santos over the next few months were futile.

Trelha said that he realized he was “conned” after no lawyer appeared in his defense. However, he still refused to name George Santos as his co-conspirator, in fear of the latter’s action against Oliveira, who was also an undocumented immigrant at the time.

As per Politico, in an audio recording of Gustavo Ribeiro Trelha’s May 15, 2017, arraignment in King County Superior Court, Santos told the judge that he was a “family friend” who was present at the venue to help book a local AirBnb if the defendant was released on bail.

Santos also claimed to have worked at Goldman Sachs at the time, one of the major lies mentioned in his resume.

According to court reports obtained by CBS News, a federal prosecutor who handled Trelha’s case described the scheme as “sophisticated,” and claimed that the Seattle portion was only “the tip of the iceberg.”

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Netizens reacts to George Santos ATM fraud allegations

George Santos has denied the ATM and credit card fraud allegations made against him (Image via Getty Images)

Rep. George Santos has continued to make news ever since his fraud CV controversy came to light.

More recently, a former roommate accused the Republican of being the “mastermind” behind a 2017 ATM and credit card skimming scheme.

As the new allegations made the rounds online, netizens took to Twitter to react to the situation:

As reactions continued to pour in online, George Santos denied the allegations while speaking to reporters on Friday:

“I’m innocent. I never did anything of criminal activity and I’m no mastermind of anything. The story's false.”

Meanwhile, accuser Gustavo Ribeiro Trelha wrote in his declaration that he is “available to speak with any American government investigator.” He also provided his email address and phone number, and attested, saying that he signed the declaration “willingly and truthfully.”