George Santos’ sister agrees to pay $19K to settle eviction case
Former landlord sued Tiffany Santos over $39,000 in unpaid rent
Tiffany Lee Devolder Santos, the sister of serial liar Republican Rep. George Santos, has entered into a settlement to pay $19,525, in monthly installments of $1,000, to settle claims of unpaid rent made by her former landlord, Newsday reported.
On Friday, a Queens County Civil Court judge approved the settlement, which requires Tiffany Santos to begin making payments to her former landlord, New Jersey limited liability company 90-02 QB Holdings, on March 31, the outlet reported.
The final payment of $525 is due on Oct. 31, 2024, Newsday said.
The landlord had sought more than $39,000 in unpaid rent on an Elmhurst, Queens, apartment where Tiffany Santos lived until she vacated the property on Jan. 18, Newsday said.
The settlement appears to have ended one of the Santoses myriad controversies, with this one arising when 90-02 QB Holdings filed an eviction suit against Tiffany Santos in August 2020 over $12,500 in arrears, or about six months’ worth of rent.
Tiffany Santos could have filed for emergency rent relief when the portal opened in June 2021. The program offered to repay up to 15 months’ rent. At that point, Santos’ landlord had already gone 16 months without a payment, pushing her arrears to $33,000.
But Santos didn’t apply for the program until March 2022, court documents show. An application to the program automatically shields a tenant from eviction while the state determines whether they are eligible for relief.
That decision came in July 2022, when Santos’ landlord received a $30,750 payout. But by then, Santos had missed 28 months’ rent, leaving her landlord $29,050 short. Santos had continued to withhold rent in the months since, leaving her landlord holding the bag for more than $39,000 by the end of 2022.
George Santos, who once claimed to own 13 rental properties in New York, decried the state’s eviction moratorium in 2021, saying it robbed him and his family of revenue. A New York Times investigation found no proof of his claims of real estate holdings, but rather that he had faced eviction multiple times.
In addition, while she hadn’t paid rent on her apartment, Tiffany Santos served as president of a political action committee that helped her brother win his race for New York’s Third Congressional District, Newsday reported. The PAC paid Tiffany Santos about $26,000 during the campaign, according to the outlet. She also contributed $5,000 to his campaign, the Daily Mail reported.
Meanwhile, George Santos has resisted bipartisan calls to resign following revelations that much of his background — including among other things, claims that he worked at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, attended Baruch College and played volleyball there, and had former employees die in the Pulse nightclub massacre — had been fabricated.
In addition, he’s been tied to a Ponzi scheme that ensnared numerous victims, including one member of the real estate industry.
The FBI is also investigating him on claims that he raised $3,000 through a charity for a disabled veteran’s sick dog, but kept the money instead.
— Ted Glanzer
https://therealdeal.com/new-york/2023/01/29/george-santos-alleged-ponzi-scheme-victimized-re-agent/