George Santos allegedly used bad checks to steal puppies, says Amish breeder

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox

Get our free Inside Washington email

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy

Congressman George Santos bought a dog from an Amish breeder with a check that later bounced, the unnamed breeder told CNN this week.

In a new bizarre angle to the already questionable story of the pet charity Mr Santos has both claimed to, at different times, run or only worked for, an Amish man has told CNN that the now-House member visited his farm and purchased two puppies for thousands of dollars with checks that later bounced.

The network obtained multiple images of checks given to other Amish dog breeders in the region, in total equaling roughly $15,000. All bounced, according to CNN’s sources.

The unnamed man told CNN that a man whom he identified as Mr Santos visited his farm with a female accomplice and snatched two dogs which they had decided to purchase, placing them in their car before the transaction was even agreed upon. The man says he felt conned by the two, and forced to accept the check he suspected at the time would bounce because the man he says was Mr Santos offered no other payment.

“I’m disappointed that a person like that would have a chance to get in the House of Representatives,” the Amish man told CNN.

The Independent has reached out to the congressman’s office for comment.

The troubled New York representative faces calls for his resignations from both Democrats and Republican on the Hill; he was even confronted by Utah Republican Senator Mitt Romney during the president’s State of the Union address and called an “ass” by the onetime presidential candidate.

He also faces an FBI investigation into the pet charity and potentially other issues, according to news reports, as well as an investigation launched by Nassau County’s district attorney.

Mr Santos has remained adamant that he will serve two years in Congress even as he enters his second month under an Ethics committee investigation and virtually excommunicated from his party’s establishment.