Republican ‘stole from homeless war veteran’s fundraiser’

GEORGE SANTOS, the Republican Congressman mired in a growing scandal over a series of outlandish lies, was last night facing accusations of stealing $3,000 (£2,432) from a homeless veteran raising money for his dying dog.

The newly elected politician allegedly took the money from a collection he set up for Richard Osthoff, who came forward with his claims this week.

Navy veteran Mr Osthoff, 47, was sleeping rough with his service dog, Sapphire, in Howell, New Jersey, in 2016, when the dog developed a lifethreatening tumour which a veterinarian said would cost $3,000 to remove.

Anthony Devolder, an alias that Santos, 34, has used in the past, set up a donations page on Gofundme to raise cash to help Sapphire but Mr Osthoff never saw any of the money and his dog died in January 2017.

It is the latest allegation against the New York congressman, who last month admitted lying about his past life, including claiming he worked on Wall Street. He has been branded a serial fabricator but has ignored crossparty calls to resign.