Scammer tried to con George Santos, asked $900K to make case vanish: Brooklyn feds
A scammer from Texas faces federal charges after he offered to make George Santos’ legal troubles go away for $900,000, prosecutors alleged Wednesday.
El Paso ex-con Hector Medina sent the lying former congressman text messages and a video last year purporting to be a man with a particular set of skills that could make Santos’ criminal charges vanish, Brooklyn federal prosecutors allege in a criminal complaint.
He also made a $1 million offer to an unnamed California actor convicted of multiple felonies in May. A source with knowledge of the situation identified the actor as Danny Masterson, who was convicted of raping two women.
Medina is also accused of similar offers to a musician arrested in June and an athlete’s relative who was busted in May.
Calling himself “Mike Soto,” Medina is accused of sending an unsolicited video message to Santos in July, while the Republican elected from a district including parts of Nassau County and Queens was still in Congress.
“You don’t know me but, I wanted you to see a face and trust me on what I’m about to tell you. I work with prosecutors and, uh, judges throughout the United States and I want to give you the opportunity to offer my services. I was contacted by some people to reach out to you and see if you wanted to cut a deal,” he said, according to the feds.
“Uh, this only stands for today. If you’re interested, I can get everything dropped, evidence that is on you removed, disappeared. Reach out to me if you’re interested. It’s simple yes or no. Thank you.”
He then sent Santos several text messages, asking him if he had the wrong number, then offering, “I can get all the charges dropped” and “All I need is for you or someone to wire 900k,” according to the feds
In a string of texts, he said, “Once this is done I’ll take care of the rest. I’m the real deal don’t let doubt come in the way of you getting this dismissed,” the feds allege.
In August, Medina persisted, according to the feds, sending more texts like, “I know you see my messages,” and recording another video, boasting, “I’m on your team. If you don’t want the help, at least connect me with people that do. Um, you know, I’m really good at what I do. I am a genius. I am a wizard when it comes to things like this.”
Santos, who lied about nearly every aspect of his life during his successful run for office in 2022, was ousted from the job in December. He faces multiple fraud and identity theft charges, including allegations he stole people’s identities and made unauthorized charges on campaign donors’ credit cards to buy designer clothes and pay personal debts.
The complaint doesn’t identify Santos by name, but rather as Individual-1. It explicitly describes him as New York’s 3rd Congressional District representative from Jan. 7 to Dec. 1.
In June, Medina sent messages to the California actor identified as Masterson and to Masterson’s then-spouse, said the feds.
The message allegedly said: “My name is Mike and I’m working with the people affiliated with your case. I can get the case thrown out or a reduced sentence very low but my people are asking for a $1 million dollar fee.”
When law enforcement came calling on Dec. 14, Medina admitted the scam, saying he searched the internet looking for people in trouble, and that he needed the cash to pay off more than $100,000 in gambling debts, according to the complaint.
Medina — who has a history of fraud and theft convictions in Texas, according to the feds — is charged with wire fraud and was expected to appear in federal court in El Paso, Texas, on Wednesday.
“I’m currently in my initial phases of my representation of Mr. Medina in this matter. Mr. Medina eagerly anticipates confronting the allegations against him through the formal legal process,” his lawyer Joseph Veith said Wednesday.
Medina’s case will be transferred to Brooklyn Federal Court at a later date.
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