Big money for Santos raised by arcane, unregistered fund
A month before George Santos was elected to Congress, one of his large donors received a call asking him to consider making another sizable contribution.
The request came from a Republican loyalist calling on behalf of RedStone Strategies, which was described in an email to the donor as an “independent expenditure” group that was supporting Santos’ bid to flip a Democratic House seat in New York. The group had already raised $800,000 and was seeking to raise another $700,000, according to the email, which was reviewed by The New York Times.
The donor came through: Days later, on Oct. 21, he sent $25,000 to a Wells Fargo Bank account belonging to RedStone Strategies.
Three months later, Santos is now in Congress, but where the donor’s money went is unclear. The Federal Election Commission said it had no evidence that RedStone Strategies was registered as a political group, and there do not appear to be any records documenting its donors, contributions or spending.
Santos and his lawyer refused to answer questions about RedStone’s fundraising efforts and whether Santos was involved in them. But he did have ties to a Redstone Strategies LLC, registered to an address in Merritt Island, Florida, in November 2021, as Santos was preparing his second run for Congress. The firm listed the Devolder Organization, a company owned by Santos, as one of its managing officers.
A company website describes that Redstone as being run by “experters in marketing and others in politics” whose services in ad creation, communications and fundraising have
value “no matter if you are in a local race or if you are going to be the next president of the United States.”
Yet the firm’s body of work, at least for candidates and committees required to file campaign expense reports, appears limited.
State records show a PAC called Rise NY, run by Santos’ sister, Tiffany, sent a wire transfer for $6,000 in April 2022 to Red Stone Strategies. It listed a Wells Fargo Bank branch on Merritt Island as its address.
The murkiness surrounding fundraising operations on behalf of Santos makes it difficult to know whether any laws were broken. But examination of available records suggest RedStone may have skirted the law.
The email to the donor described it as an “independent expenditure committee under federal campaign finance law” with the “singular purpose” of electing Santos. Such groups, also known as super PACs, can raise money far beyond campaign donor limits. Even so, there are rules: They must register with the Federal Election Commission and disclose their donors and cannot coordinate directly with campaigns.
Yet the FEC has no record of RedStone Strategies. The Daily Beast has reported that Redstone Strategies
LLC of Florida had a connection to Santos, but the existence of a group operating under the name RedStone raising large sums for his election has not previously been revealed.
A lawyer for Santos declined to respond to questions about RedStone, saying that “it would be inappropriate to respond to anything related to this apparent investigation of my client’s campaign finances.”
Santos’ finances have come under scrutiny after the Times reported last month that his successful run for Congress in New York was built on lies, including fabrications of real estate fortune, academic distinction and a glittering career on Wall Street.
According to financial disclosures that he filed as a candidate, Santos claimed that he went from earning $55,000 to running a company worth more than $1 million in a few years. That ostensibly enabled him to lend his campaign more than $700,000 — slightly less than the amount that RedStone Strategies claimed to have raised.
Santos’ campaign spending has also come under question, with scores of expenses for $199.99 — one cent below the threshold for requiring receipts.