Federal judge orders identities of Rep. George Santos' bail guarantors released

A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the identities of the people who secured indicted congressman George Santos’ release from federal custody on $500,000 bond to be made public, but delayed the release of the names in case Santos wants to appeal.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Anne Y. Shields issued the order a day after Santos’ attorney pleaded with the judge to keep the names sealed, saying Santos would rather be imprisoned than have the identities of the people who put up the bond for him revealed.

Santos' lawyer also cited the potential for the co-signers to “suffer great distress” and lose their jobs or be the victims of violence.

Shields’ order, which also is sealed, came in response to requests from more than a dozen media organizations — including Newsday — to make the information public. Bond information is usually part of the public record in criminal proceedings, but Santos’ attorney, Joseph Murray, had requested the names of the co-signers be withheld. The judge’s Tuesday order reverses her previous ruling.

Santos (R-Nassau/Queens) has until noon on Friday to appeal.

Murray had said of Santos in his Monday letter: "My client would rather surrender to pretrial detainment than subject these suretors to what will inevitably come."

Murray could not be reached for comment Tuesday. His voicemail was full and he did not respond to a text message seeking comment.

Federal prosecutors have alleged that Santos 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.

Santos pleaded not guilty on May 10 in federal court in Central Islip 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 as part of schemes prosecutors said began in 2020.

Santos faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on the top counts if convicted, and the potential forfeiture of his assets. 

Santos, 34, a first-term congressman who has announced he is running for reelection despite calls for him to resign, has been mired in controversy since it emerged that he lied about various parts of his background. Santos had claimed to have worked at Goldman Sachs, been a volleyball star at Baruch College and said he was "Jew-ish" as he ran for Congress. 

Santos later admitted lying about parts of his resume, but said it would not deter him from being an effective congressman. The House Ethics Committee is also investigating Santos. 

Santos is due back in federal court June 30.

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.