George Anthony Devolder Santos (born July 22, 1988) is an American former politician and convicted fraudster who served as the U.S. representative for New York's 3rd congressional district from January to December 2023, when he was expelled from Congress. He was elected in 2022 as a Republican, defeating Democrat Robert Zimmerman in the election for New York's 3rd district. He had previously run for the same seat, unsuccessfully challenging then-incumbent Tom Suozzi. Santos is the first openly LGBTQ Republican elected to Congress as a freshman.
Within weeks of Santos's election, before he was sworn in, reporting revealed much of his biography was fabricated. He admitted lying about his education and employment, and disclosures related to his business activity and financials were self-contradictory, incomplete, or unverifiable. Santos had also not disclosed his criminal history and pending lawsuits. He was sworn in as a member of the House in January 2023, but faced ongoing media scrutiny as well as demands for his resignation from members of both parties.
Following an investigation by the House Ethics Committee and a federal indictment, the House of Representatives voted 311–114 to expel Santos on December 1, 2023. Santos was the first member of Congress expelled without having previously been convicted of a crime or having supported the Confederacy, the first Republican, and the sixth member of the House to be expelled. In August 2024, Santos pled guilty to identity theft and wire fraud. In April 2025, he was sentenced to 87 months in prison, which he began serving that July. Six months later, President Donald Trump commuted Santos's sentence.
In 2026, Santos stoked speculation that he might attend that year's State of the Union speech, while also betting on Kalshi, an online prediction market, that he would not attend. After he did not attend the speech and made a reported $17,000 on Kalshi, he was investigated and fined by the United States Commodities Futures Trading Commission for manipulating the market, and became the first person to be fined and banned for life by Kalshi.
George Anthony Devolder Santos was born on July 22, 1988, to Fátima Alzira Caruso Horta Devolder and Gercino Antônio dos Santos Jr. (known as Junior), both of whom were born in Brazil.
His maternal grandparents, Paulo Horta Devolder and Rosalina Caruso Horta Devolder, were also born in Brazil. Three of his four maternal great-grandparents were also born in Brazil, with the other born in Belgium. His mother, Fátima Devolder, immigrated to Florida in 1985, working in agriculture. She later moved to New York City, working as a housekeeper, cook, and nanny. Gercino Santos was a house painter. Santos has claimed dual citizenship in the U.S. and Brazil. In 2013, a Brazilian court described him as American.
Santos has said his family was poor during his childhood, living in a rat-infested basement apartment in Jackson Heights, Queens, near a Brazilian immigrant enclave in Astoria. Relatives and friends recall that his parents and an aunt often bought him dolls, toys and clothes despite their money problems. His parents' marriage appears to have ended by 1998, when records in Gercino's native state of Minas Gerais show that he remarried there. Santos remained close to his mother (living with her intermittently until her death) and maintained infrequent contact with his father. According to a biographer, Santos developed a reputation within his family for deceit and theft during his childhood.
Santos holds a GED (Certificate of High School Equivalency). He attended Primary School 122 (also known as P.S.122 The Mamie Fay School) in Astoria and Intermediate School 125 (also known as I.S. 125 Thomas J. McCann Woodside Intermediate School) in Woodside, Queens.
Around 2008, George moved to Niterói in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Area, where his mother, Fátima, was then living, and lived there until 2011, although acquaintances of Santos from that period are unsure whether he lived in Brazil or merely visited. Many knew him as Anthony Devolder. Fátima lived in difficult circumstances, working odd jobs, moving around frequently due to unpaid rent, and obtaining electricity illegally. Santos told people his family had money because his father was a high-paid executive in New York.
A friend from that time says Santos was very involved in local LGBT activism, handing out leaflets and regularly attending meetings of a local activist group and Pride parades. Two former acquaintances said that he competed as a drag queen in Brazilian beauty pageants in 2008 using the drag name Kitara Ravache, with one saying that Santos began dressing in drag in 2005. Manoel Antiqueira, who performs in drag as Eula Rochard, recalls Santos returning from a 2007 trip to the U.S. with expensive materials for a dress that were not available in Brazil at the time.
Santos denied having been a drag queen, calling the allegations "categorically false" and accusing the media of making "outrageous claims about my life"; two days later, he said, "No, I was not a drag queen in Brazil, guys. I was young and I had fun at a festival."
While in Brazil, Santos's politics were shaped by his family's support for right-wing politician Jair Bolsonaro, who later became Brazil's president. Santos supported Bolsonaro despite his open homophobia. The Santoses frequently disparaged Brazil's then-president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, on social media. After winning his House election, Santos posted a picture of himself with Bolsonaro's conservative ally Carla Zambelli.
Early career and entering politics
From October 2011 to July 2012, Santos worked as a customer service representative at a call center for Dish Network in College Point, Queens. Hired for his second-language skills, he handled calls from Portuguese-speaking customers.
The New York Times verified that sometime after 2013, Santos worked for HotelsPro, a subsidiary of Turkey-headquartered MetGlobal.
Around the time he is reported to have left Harbor City Capital, Santos founded a limited liability company (LLC) called the Devolder Organization, and his reported personal income rose substantially. The company had no public presence when major media investigations commenced, and Santos has given inconsistent explanations of its business.
According to his financial disclosures, Santos was the sole owner and managing member, managing $80 million in assets. On financial disclosure forms, Santos called the organization a "capital introduction consulting" firm. Although based in New York, the company was registered in Florida, where it was dissolved in September 2022 for failing to file annual reports. Santos said that its accountant had missed the annual filing deadline. In 2022, the organization lent Santos's congressional campaign more than $700,000. Santos reported receiving a salary of $750,000 and dividends of $1–$5 million from the company, even though he also claimed that its estimated value was in the same range.
Despite his claims about the organization's size, Santos's financial disclosure forms listed no clients. In July 2022, Dun & Bradstreet estimated Devolder's revenue at less than $50,000. Santos listed himself as the registered agent for the LLC and listed Florida as his state of residence. The company's mailing address was a Merritt Island apartment.