George Santos: Brazil reactivates fraud case against fabulist congressman-elect

As the fabulist New York Republican representative-elect George Santos prepares to be sworn in on Tuesday, Brazilian prosecutors say they are reopening a criminal fraud case against him.

Santos, who faces federal and state investigations involving possible criminal activity related to his two congressional campaigns, is accused of using a stolen checkbook and fake name at a clothing shop outside Rio de Janeiro in 2008, the New York Times reported on Monday citing court documents.

The case languished for more than a decade, however, as Brazilian authorities did not know where Santos was.

Santos reportedly told police in 2010 that he and his mother stole the checkbook from a man that she had once worked for, and then used it to make illicit purchases, per the Times.

If convicted, the maximum penalty is five years imprisonment as well as a fine, the New York Times said.