Embattled Rep. George Santos will no longer be facing charges in two countries after making a deal with Brazillian prosecutors while appearing virtually on Thursday at the criminal court hearing in the Rio suburb of Niterói.
According to The Washington Post, Santos was given 30 days to pay around $2,000 in fines and $2,800 to the victim. The outlet reports that the case won’t be dismissed until the payments are made.
“The case ended today,” Santos's lawyer Jonymar Vasconcelos said. “My client is no longer facing any charges in Brazil.”
Via the Post:
According to authorities, Santos, then 19, entered a small clothing store in Niterói called the Salt in 2008 and wrote two bad checks worth $430 for clothing and shoes, court documents show. The merchant soon after went to the police and reported it, leading to a criminal embezzlement charge against Santos.
“I remember because I had to pay that value out of my own pocket,” merchant Carlos Bruno Simões told Folha de S.Paulo last year.
Simões attended the Thursday hearing, which lasted less than a half-hour. He said he was disappointed in how little Santos will be forced to pay him.
“He got off super cheap,” he said.
Santos's legal problems in the States won't be resolved that easily. The Long Island fabulist was charged this week on a 13-count indictment, including seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds, and two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives.
In response to the 13-count indictment, Santos called it a "witch hunt."
