Andrew Harnik/AP Photo
- Fundraising committees associated with George Santos listed a new treasurer on Wednesday.
- But the man listed said he doesn't work for Santos, and his name was signed without his consent.
- A legal expert told ABC News that this could be against the law.
When fundraising committees associated with Rep. George Santos' campaign filed amendments to their statements of organizations on Wednesday, they notified the Federal Election Commission of a new treasurer.
But that treasurer, Thomas Datwyler, now says he doesn't work for Santos, informed the campaign that he didn't want to work for them, and was listed as serving in the position without his consent.
"On Monday, we informed the Santos campaign that Mr. Datwyler would not be serving as treasurer," Datwyler's attorney Derek Ross told ABC News.
"It appears that there's been a disconnect between that conversation and the filings today, which we did not authorize," he continued, per the news outlet.
Ross and Datwyler did not respond to Insider's requests for comment, but a source familiar with the matter told ABC News that Datwyler and his legal team are now seeking guidance from the FEC on how best to proceed.
The amended filing appears to have an electronic signature for Datwyler, who has served as a treasurer and accountant for several senate and congressional campaigns.
This would be against the law.
"This is a very, very strange situation because those amendments that were filed today are electronically signed, or at least they say they're electronically signed by the new treasurer," Adav Noti, who worked for the FEC and is now senior vice president and legal director at the Campaign Legal Center watchdog, told ABC News.
"It's completely illegal to sign somebody else's name on a federal filing without their consent," Noti continued.
The news comes a day after Santos' political operation made significant revisions to his 2022 campaign filings, revealing that a large personal loan he gave to his campaign didn't in fact come from his own funds.
The campaign had previously listed the $500,000 loan as coming from the "personal funds of the candidate."
The amended filing doesn't mention the source of the funds, further adding to the mystery of the campaign's financial disclosures.
Santos' finances and lies about his personal history are now under investigation by prosecutors at the federal level, in New York state, and in Brazil.
Santos did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.