By Fredreka Schouten, Kara Scannell and Gregory Krieg | CNN
In the fall of 2020, then-New York Rep. Lee Zeldin’s campaign submitted a report to federal regulators with a series of unusual expenses: 21 payments on a single day of exactly $199.99 each. The outlays — each just one penny below the dollar figure above which campaigns are required to keep receipts — all went to anonymous recipients.
It’s a pattern that has emerged recently in the filings of another New York Republican politician: Embattled freshman Rep. George Santos.
The Zeldin and Santos congressional campaigns had one more thing in common: They shared a treasurer, Nancy Marks.
The Long Island-based consultant is now in the spotlight as Santos faces multiple investigations over his finances and repeated lies about his resume and biography.
On January 31, Marks informed the Federal Election Commission that she had left her post after a little more than three years and two campaigns working with Santos. But her resignation is not likely to shield her from scrutiny, legal experts say. The FEC reports Marks filed on behalf of Santos’ campaign are the subject of complaints centered on allegations that records were falsified in violation of federal law.
And her ties to Santos extend beyond filing compliance reports with federal regulators. She also was paid for fundraising services, federal records show. In addition, state records in Florida show companies tied to her and Santos were stakeholders in a for-profit enterprise established shortly after the Republican launched his 2022 congressional bid.
“Given her apparent history and relationship with Mr. Santos, I have to assume that any investigation of him will focus intensely on her role and her knowledge of how the fundraising was organized, accomplished and carried out especially in light of the fact that she’s now resigned,” said Paul Krieger, a former federal prosecutor.
Krieger also said that Marks’ shared history with Santos on…
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