OAN’s James Meyers
4:40 PM – Wednesday, August 16, 2023
A former fundraiser for Republican Representative George Santos was indicted on Wednesday on federal charges.
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27-year-old Sam Miele was charged with four counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.
Miele is accused of taking part in an alleged scheme that defrauded donors and acted as Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s top aide to solicit donations for Santos.
According to the indictment in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, he also allegedly sent a letter to Santos on September 26th, 2022, “in which he admitted to faking my identity to a big donor, but stated that he was high risk, high reward in everything I do.”
Additionally, Miele was accused of impersonating McCarthy’s aide, Dan Meyer, to receive campaign donations from over a dozen donors and taking in 15% of commissions on each donation.
The arrest comes after Santos (R-N.Y.) was charged with theft, fraud, money laundering, and making false statements. The false statements reportedly included lying about his family, past work experience, and education.
According to the indictment, Miele intentionally impersonated Meyer “for the purpose of soliciting contributions to the campaign and enriching himself through commissions earned.”
In the alleged scam, Miele purportedly made an email account using the first letter and last name of McCarthy’s aide and then signed the aide’s full name and job title.
The 27-year-old pleaded not guilty to the indictment and has been released on $150,000 bail.
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