A veteran killed has been accused of newly elected Rep. George Santos (RN.Y.) of fundraising for lifesaving surgery service dogs and then disappeared with the money, local news site Patch reported Tuesday.
Richard Osthoff, a US Navy veteran, told Patch Santos conned him in 2016 while he was living in a tent on the side of a highway in Howell, New Jersey, with his beloved dog Sapphire. Sapphire was diagnosed with a life-threatening stomach tumor, and Osthoff was quoted $3,000 for surgery to remove it.
According to Osthoff, the veterinary technician told him he knew someone who could help: Anthony Devolder, who runs Friends of Pets United, a pet charity.
Anthony Devolder is one of the names that Santos, whose name is George Anthony Devolder Santos, uses among several aliases, including George Devolder and Anthony Zabrovsky.
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Lawmakers are facing multiple federal and local investigations following revelations that they fabricated much of their background, including education, work experience and heritage. He is also under investigation for campaign finance violations after allegedly misusing campaign funds, lying about how the campaign spent money and concealing the origin of campaign funds.
In December, The New York Times reported that, among other discrepancies in Santos’ resume sent to voters, there was no evidence that the charity, Friends of Pets United, was a tax-exempt organization as it claimed. The Internal Revenue Service apparently has no record of a registered charity under that name.
Osthoff and another New Jersey veteran, retired police Sgt. Michael Boll, who helped Osthoff as the situation developed in 2016, told Patch that Santos set up a GoFundMe for Sapphire’s surgery.
They claim that once they get to $3,000, they shut down and are getting harder to contact.
In a July 2016 Facebook post, Osthoff thanked supporters for helping him reach his fundraising goal. He shared a link to a GoFundMe page that has since been deleted. A preview of the link indicates that it was created “by Anthony Devolder.”
However, according to Osthoff, when he tried to schedule Sapphire’s procedure, Santos then insisted that Osthoff take Sapphire to another vet’s clinic – which he allegedly had a relationship with – who said he could not operate on the tumor. Santos later claimed he was going to take Sapphire’s money and use it for “another dog,” Osthoff said.
In a November 2016 Facebook post, Osthoff told supporters that he had been “deceived by Anthony Devolder” and that Sapphire was facing euthanasia for months, according to images published by Patch.
Sapphire died the following year.
One of Santos’ former roommates, Gregory Morey-Parker, was interviewed several times on CNN this week about Santos, who said he has a few months to live in 2020.
Morey-Parker said she knew Santos by two names: Anthony Devolder and Anthony Zabrovsky and that she “never knew him as George Santos.” According to Morey-Parker, Santos said used name Zabrovsky for her pet charity because she believes “Jews will give more if you’re Jewish.”
A spokeswoman for Santos did not immediately return a request for comment.