Rep. George Santos’ (R-NY) campaign expense reports from South Florida only raise more questions about the time he spent there, with expenditures that don’t appear to add up, according to a Miami Herald report. From fishy hotel and diner bills to “impossible” parking fees, the Herald’s review found many of the reports appear “to have holes.” The serial liar’s campaign reported spending $199.99 and $75.79 on back-to-back days at the now-closed Miami Diner, however, managing partner Alex Karavias said the restaurant didn’t have any matching receipts on record and no table’s bill from Oct. 13—the day Santos listed as dining—surpassed $127.35 with or without tip. “Even that amount is higher than a typical check at the Diner at the time,” Karavias told the Herald in an email. Other examples include a cheap stay at a pricey W South Beach hotel that was flagged by the Campaign Legal Center, which complained to the Federal Elections Commission that it was a suspiciously low rate “barring some type of private insider rate that would raise other serious violations of federal campaign finance law.” Miami Beach Parking Director Monica Beltran told the Herald that Santos’ parking payments at a Miami Beach lot don’t match actual parking rates and are “impossible if we’re talking only about that lot.” Saurav Ghosh, director of federal campaign finance reform for Campaign Legal Center, said that “maybe some of these disbursements didn’t happen at all.”
