How George Santos benefited from sister's Rise NY PAC
Rep. George Santos leaves a House GOP conference meeting on Capitol Hill, in Washington, on Jan. 25. Credit: AP/Andrew Harnik
The Rise NY PAC incorporated on Dec. 14, 2020 — weeks after George Santos, a first-time House candidate from Queens, conceded his bid to unseat then-Rep. Thomas Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) in New York's Third Congressional District.
Over a five-week period, six donors gave $70,000, and the PAC began posting on Instagram and Facebook, promoting voter enrollment drives and fundraisers in the goal of "building a Republican skyline" across New York.
In early 2021 Rise hired Scott Presler, a conservative activist from Virginia, as its "brand ambassador" to lead the enrollment drive.
The PAC listed only a control person, Tiffany Lee Devolder Santos, George Santos' sister, on its board of election filings, as well as a treasurer, Nancy Marks. Marks, of Shirley, also managed Santos' federal congressional accounts.
Timeline:
Who were Rise NY PAC's largest donors?
Who benefited from the Rise NY PAC?
Money from the PAC went to campaign staff, including Marks and her companies; the Nassau County and Hempstead Town Republican Committees; and to George and Tiffany Santos. The Liberty Education Forum, a D.C. based nonprofit, received $57,600. Of that amount, $1,800 covered tickets for Santos and two guests to attend the group's annual gala, in which former First Lady Melania Trump was a guest of honor.
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