George Santos lied in housing court to evade eviction years before entering politics
New York, New York - Rep. George Santos reportedly spent several years battling eviction in court before he became a controversial politician, and he told a handful of interesting stories.
New recordings obtained by the Gothamist signal that Santos repeatedly appeared in New York City Housing Court between 2014 and 2017, fighting eviction from three separate Queens apartments.
In one recording from the summer of 2014, Santos, who was recently evicted from a two-bedroom apartment in Jackson Heights, is heard pleading to a judge to allow him to get back into the apartment, "so I can get my belongings and feed my fish."
"I have a big fish tank," he adds.
Yasser Rabello, a former friend of Santos who shared the apartment with him at one time, told the outlet that Santos never had a fish, and accused the politician of being "a pathological liar."
In one recording, the judge suggests that Santos seek public assistance to help him pay the $12,000 he owed in back rent, to which Santos responded, "I can do that," even though he has spoken against it while in office.
"He used to lie to everyone that he was working, but actually he was not," Rabello explained. "He was home just browsing the web, just sitting on the computer all day."
Rabello also claimed that Santos does not "care about politics at all [and] just wants to be famous."
George Santos' truth-bending stories continue
In recordings taken from another case in housing court in 2015 regarding an apartment in Whitestone, Santos is heard telling the judge, "I will have money, due to business loans."
It's not clear what business loans he was referring to. But around that same time, he began making social media posts about his animal rescue charity, which is under investigation after a veteran claimed Santos stole money that was fundraised to treat his dying dog.
Later that year, he returned to court against the same landlord, this time claiming that he was robbed of his rent money when he was on his way to drop it off, but the NYPD has no record of the incident.
The troubled politician has faced heavy criticism from constituents and his fellow politicians after it was revealed that he lied and made up large parts of his resume that helped him get elected.
Santos is also under investigation for campaign finance fraud and sexual misconduct, but continues to turn down calls to resign.
Cover photo: Collage: IMAGO / ZUMA Press