Rep. George Santos' father and aunt helped secure his $500,000 bail, court documents show

Indicted Rep. George Santos' father and aunt backed the congressman's $500,000 bond in his money laundering and wire fraud case, according to court documents made public Thursday. 

The documents identify the co-signers as Gercino dos Santos, the defendant's father, and Elma Preven, his aunt, ending a more than monthlong mystery into who guaranteed the Republican lawmakers' unsecured bond. 

U.S. District Court Judge Joanna Seybert ordered the identities of the co-signers for Santos' bond released by noon Thursday despite pleas from Santos' lawyer to keep their identities secret. 

“My family and I have made peace with the judge’s decision to release their names," Santos said Thursday in a statement to Newsday. "Now I pray that the judge is correct and no harm comes to them. I look forward to continuing this process and I ask for the media to not disturb or harass my dad and aunt for the sakes [sic] of cheap reporting. If the press needs comments, they know where and how to find me." 

Dos Santos could not be reached Thursday. Preven did not respond to a message seeking comment. 

The first-term congressman pleaded not guilty in May to 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.

Santos allegedly orchestrated a series of schemes while running for Congress, including ripping off political donors, fraudulently receiving unemployment benefits authorized under COVID-19 even though he had a job, and lying on his congressional financial disclosure forms, according to federal prosecutors. 

Santos was released on the $500,000 unsecured bond backed by his co-signers at his May 10 arraignment in federal court in Central Islip, but their identities were sealed by the court on the request of Santos' lawyer. The co-signers are not required to pay any money initially and would only have financial liability if Santos violated the bond terms, according to the agreement. 

News organizations, including Newsday, asked the judge to unseal the identities, citing the right of public access to court proceedings. The news media, as well as the House Committee on Ethics, had also questioned whether the co-signers were lobbyists or others possibly seeking to improperly influence the congressman. 

Federal prosecutors took no position on the issue. 

Santos' attorney Joseph Murray urged the judge to deny the request, arguing that the bond backers would face harassment if their names were public. Murray said one of the co-signers withdrew after the “media frenzy” surrounding the indictment.

Murray, who revealed then that the co-signers were family members without being specific, said his client would rather be jailed than have the names released. Murray, who could not be reached for comment Thursday, also suggested a possible comprise, saying the judge could release the familial relationships, but not the names. 

But Seybert ruled the names would be released, writing in an order Tuesday that was unsealed Thursday: "Indeed, it appears Defendant’s continued attempts to shield the identity of his Suretors, notwithstanding the fact that he is aware their identities are not controversial, has simply created hysteria over what is, in actuality, a nonissue. In sum, given the facts and circumstances of this case, disclosure of the family-member Suretors’ identities is necessary to quell the speculations surrounding the granting of Defendant’s release bond, thereby outweighing the speculative privacy concerns raised by Defendant."

The release order, unsealed by the judge Thursday, listed the names of dos Santos and Preven as the co-signers for the unsecured bond, but their addresses were redacted. Four full pages of the six-page document were also redacted.

Santos, who won the 2022 election for New York's Third Congressional District covering parts of Nassau and Queens, took office in January under a cloud of scandal.

Santos admitted lying about many aspects of his personal and professional history after The New York Times reported there were no records of him working for financial institutions where he claimed to have been employed or attending the colleges he had claimed to have graduated from. 

Santos has announced he is seeking reelection despite calls for him to resign, including from Nassau County's Republican Party. Santos is also under investigation by the House Ethics Committee and New York State Attorney General Letitia James. 

He's due back in federal court next Friday. 

On Thursday, the House Ethics Committee issued a rare update on the panel’s ongoing investigation into Santos which was launched in March.

A subcommittee formed by the panel to investigate Santos “has issued over 30 subpoenas and more than 40 voluntary requests for information,” according to a joint statement released by Rep. Michael Guest (R-Miss.), the chairman of the panel, and Rep. Susan Wild (D- Pennsylvania), the ranking member.

The lawmakers said that after Santos’ federal indictment in May, the committee voted to expand its investigation to examine the federal “allegations that [Santos] fraudulently obtained unemployment insurance benefits.” The committee announced in March that it was looking into Santos’ 2022 campaign dealings, his financial disclosures and his conduct while in office.

The committee “is actively working to resolve this matter in an expeditious time frame,” the lawmakers said, adding that they would not comment further due to the panel’s confidentiality rules

The statement came a day after a pair of House Democrats — including Rep. Dan Goldman (D-Brooklyn) — filed a resolution urging the panel to give a progress report on the status of the investigation.

With Laura Figueroa Hernandez

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.