Security

Convicted man accuses Rep. George Santos of ATM card skimming scheme

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March 10, 2023

Gustavo Ribeiro Trelha, a man convicted of credit card skimming and deported to Brazil, has accused Republican Rep. George Santos, of New York, of leading the scheme. Trelha claims Santos taught him to place skimmers inside ATMs to steal user's card information, according to a report by Politico.

"Santos taught me how to skim card information and how to clone cards. He gave me all the materials and taught me how to put skimming devices and cameras on ATM machines," Trelha said in the declaration.

Santos has been the source of controversy as it was revealed he made untruthful statements about his education, work experience and ancestry.

Trelha said they met in 2016 on a Facebook group for Brazilians living in Orlando, Florida and from there, they participated in the fraud in 2017.

"He had a lot of material — parts, printers, blank ATM and credit cards to be painted and engraved with stolen account and personal information," Trelha told the news outlet. "Santos gave me at his warehouse, some of the parts to illegally skim credit card information. Right after he gave me the card skimming and cloning machines, he taught me how to use them."

Upon Trelha's arrest, he claims Santos visited him to threaten Trelha's friends and warn him not to implicate Santos.

As of press time, Santos had yet to respond to the allegations.