Few things will win hearts faster than the idea that someone’s helping animals in need, and from 2013 to 2018, George Santos — under the name Anthony Devolder — claimed to be doing precisely that. In fact, he claimed that his charity, Friends of Pets United, had helped more than 2,500 animals … in spite of the fact that it never seems to have been officially registered as a charity and has no social media or web presence.
Several people who worked with the charity have come forward with questions, including a fundraising partner, who said the check he wrote was altered to be made out to “Anthony Devolder” instead of the charity, and another Bronx-based rescue who worked with Santos/Devolder for a fundraising event. Instead of the thousands she was expecting, she got a check for $400 and told The New York Times, “If you’re doing fundraising in my name, and you’re claiming you can make a couple of thousand, and you’re sending me $400, then something’s off.”
Read Related Also: Crime Stories with Nancy Grace: Mystery of Alex Murdaugh’s Clothes Worn Night of Double Murders SOLVED
Then, there’s the heartbreaking story of retired Navy vet Richard Osthoff. His service dog, Sapphire, developed a tumor that needed immediate and expensive surgery and was directed to Devolder’s charity. He set up a GoFundMe for Sapphire, but Osthoff says he never saw the money. There’s no happily-ever-after: Sapphire never got her surgery and died within months. The case has since gained the attention of the FBI.
