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[Florida Department of State, Devolder Organization, LLC, Articles of Organization, 5/12/21]
The Devolder Organization Was “One Of Six Stakeholders In Red Strategies USA,” A Political Consulting Firm Which Received Payments From Tina Forte, A “QAnon Friendly” Candidate In New York
The Devolder Organization Was “One Of Six Stakeholders In Red Strategies USA.” “The Devolder Organization is in turn one of six stakeholders in Red Strategies USA, another firm founded in the Sunshine State that same month. Five of the six companies involved in Red Strategies belong to former Harbor City employees, including the ex-CFO; the last belongs to Devolder-Santos’s campaign treasurer. None of the individuals involved were singled out in the SEC complaint for any alleged misconduct.” [Daily Beast, 4/3/22]
• Red Strategies USA Received Payments From Tina Forte, A “QAnon Friendly” Candidate In New York. “Last May, he incorporated The Devolder Organization in Florida with the help of an accountant who served as Harbor City’s chief financial officer. The Devolder Organization is in turn one of six stakeholders in Red Strategies USA, another firm founded in the Sunshine State that same month. […] But Florida state records show Red Strategies as an active concern, and Federal Election Commission disclosures reveal the firm continued to receive payments from Tina Forte—a QAnon-friendly challenger to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez—through the end of December 2021.” [Daily Beast, 4/3/22]
Tina Forte Was Seen At The Capitol On Jan. 6th And Posed For Pictures Wearing Body Armor And Displaying White Power Symbols
HEADLINE: AOC Challenger Tina Forte Promoted And Attended Jan. 6th Capitol Riot [Snopes, 8/25/21]
Tina Forte Was Seen Outside The Capitol On Jan. 6th. “Tina Forte, Jason Riddle and Derrick Van Orden, who were also seen outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, are running for House seats, and Jo Rae Perkins, who was near the Capitol that day, is running in the GOP Senate primary in Oregon. Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), who is running for Senate, also spoke at a rally prior to the riot.” [The Hill, 10/26/21]
On Jan. 6th Tina Forte Posed For Pictures Wearing Body Armor And Displaying White Power Symbols. “Then there’s Tina Forte, a long-shot GOP candidate seeking to unseat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who posed for a picture the day of the attack wearing what appears to be black body armor. In another photo from that day, the right-wing influencer displayed a white power hand gesture.” [Politico, 8/4/21]
Santos Maintained Links With His Former Employer, Harbor City Capital, Which The SEC Accused Shortly After Santos’ Departure “Of Operating As A Ponzi Scheme That Ripped Off Investors To The Tune Of $6 Million”
April 2021: The SEC Accused Santos’ “Most Recent Employer, Harbor City Capital, […] Of Operating As A Ponzi Scheme That Ripped Off Investors To The Tune Of $6 Million”
Daily Beast: The SEC Accused Santos’ “Most Recent Employer, Harbor City Capital, […] Of Operating As A Ponzi Scheme That Ripped Off Investors To The Tune Of $6 Million.” “But the would-be successor to Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-New York) seems less eager to share another detail of his personal story: for all his rants against ‘the swamp,’ Devolder-Santos served as a director of an investment firm authorities say bilked millions of dollars from its customers. […] Despite all the publicity, one fact about Devolder-Santos has eluded scrutiny: the Securities and Exchange Commission accused his most recent employer, Harbor City Capital, last April of operating as a Ponzi scheme that ripped off investors to the tune of $6 million.” [Daily Beast, 4/3/22]
• Harbor City Spent $6.5 Million Of Its Clients’ Money “To Repay Early Buyers Of Its Securities” And Misrepresented “Those Disbursements As Returns On Investment.” “According to the federal complaint, Harbor City never allocated more than $449,000 of the $17.1 million it raised from clients toward business
expenses. Instead, the SEC said, in classic Ponzi fashion, the company used $6.5 million of those funds to repay early buyers of its securities, misrepresenting those disbursements as returns on investment rather than the money of subsequent buyers-in.” [Daily Beast, 4/3/22]
• Harbor City’s Founder, Jonathan Maroney, Also Spent “Company Cash On A $90,000 Mercedes, $1.35 Million In Credit Card Bills,” And “$1.6 Million On A New House And Renovations.” “Meanwhile, Harbor City founder Jonathan Maroney allegedly splashed company cash on a $90,000 Mercedes, $1.35 million in credit card bills, $1.6 million on a new house and renovations, plus millions more transferred to his wife and other corporate entities.” [Daily Beast, 4/3/22]
June 2020-March 2021: Santos Served As “Harbor Capital’s New York Regional Director,” But “Denied Any Knowledge Of Malfeasance At The Firm”
June 2020-March 2021: Santos Served As “Harbor Capital’s New York Regional Director”
June 2020-March 2021: Santos Served As “Harbor Capital’s New York Regional Director.” “Devolder-Santos, who became Harbor Capital’s New York regional director in June 2020 but was not named in the SEC complaint, denied any knowledge of malfeasance at the firm. […] The candidate joined the company in the middle of his first attempt at winning Suozzi’s Long Island and Queens-based seat, in which the Republican ultimately fell short by more than 12 points. He said that he exited the company on March 1 of last year, more than a month before the SEC charges hit, after determining the job had constrained his political ambitions. ‘I stepped aside from all of my obligations in 2021, and I did not do that previously, and I find that to have hindered the success of my run for office,’ he said in a phone interview.” [Daily Beast, 4/3/22]
As Of October 2020, Santos Said He Had Been Working At Harbor City Capital “A Little Under A Year.” Q: “Now, right before you decided to go into politics, what were you doing?” SANTOS: “Well, I still actually – up until August 1, when I initiated my leave of absence, I’m the regional director for Harbor City Capital. We’re a fixed income shop, we are top – we are within the Fortune 500 private equity firms globally. I manage all of our fixed income assets with arbitrage here in New York. I am actually Harbor City Capital’s head guy for New York City, we’re based out of Melbourne, FL. I’ve been with the company now a little under a year. […] I’m still currently employed, just on leave.” [YouTube, Metropolitan Republican Club, 10/1/20] (VIDEO) 4:20
Santos “Denied Any Knowledge Of Malfeasance At” Harbor Capital And Claimed He Left Because “The Job Had Constrained His Political Ambitions”
Daily Beast: Santos “Became Harbor Capital’s New York Regional Director In June 2020 But Was Not Named In The SEC Complaint” And “Denied Any Knowledge Of Malfeasance At The Firm.” “Devolder-Santos, who became Harbor Capital’s New York regional director in June 2020 but was not named in the SEC complaint, denied any knowledge of malfeasance at the firm. ‘I’m as distraught and disturbed as everyone else is,’ he told The Daily Beast.” [Daily Beast, 4/3/22]
• Santos Said He Left Harbor Capital On March 1, 2021 Because He Decided “The Job Had Constrained His Political Ambitions.” “The candidate joined the company in the middle of his first attempt at winning Suozzi’s Long Island and Queens-based seat, in which the Republican ultimately fell short by more than 12 points. He said that he exited the company on March 1 of last year, more than a month before the SEC charges hit, after determining the job had constrained his political ambitions. ‘I stepped aside from all of my obligations in 2021, and I did not do that previously, and I find that to have hindered the success of my run for office,’ he said in a phone interview. ‘So this time around I premeditated [and] stepped aside from all my working activities, all the board positions I held, including employment with Harbor City and many other things, so I can focus solely on the campaign, so I can get this campaign right and win.’” [Daily Beast, 4/3/22]
Santos’ Campaign Website Continued To Name “Him As Harbor City’s Regional Director At Least As Late As” June 2021, “Two Months After The Allegations Landed”
Daily Beast: Santos’ Campaign Website Continued To Name “Him As Harbor City’s Regional Director At Least As Late As” June 2021, “Two Months After The Allegations Landed.” “But Devolder-Santos’s campaign webpage continued to allude to him as Harbor City’s regional director at least as late as last June, two months after the allegations landed, with the site stating that he ‘oversees the firm’s expansion within the private wealth side of the business.’” [Daily Beast, 4/3/22]
• June 14, 2021: Santos’ Campaign Website Said That He Was “Currently The Regional Director of Harbor City Capital.”
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[George for NY via Wayback Machine, 6/14/21]
• Santos Claimed That The Reference To Him “As Harbor City’s Regional Director” On His Website Was Just An “Oversight.” “But Devolder-Santos’s campaign webpage continued to allude to him as Harbor City’s regional director at least as late as last June, two months after the allegations landed, with the site stating that he ‘oversees the firm’s expansion within the private wealth side of the business. The candidate called this an ‘oversight.’ Speaking on the phone, he also asserted that he was ‘just an account manager’ at the company, with no executive power. The campaign website’s current incarnation includes no reference to Harbor City, even though it describes the rest of his employment history in detail.” [Daily Beast, 4/3/22]
When Asked About His Work At Harbor City Capital, Santos Said He Was “‘Just An Account Manager’ At The Company, With No Executive Power” And “Would Not Confirm Whether Any Federal Authority Had Questioned Him”
April 2022: When Asked About His Work At Harbor City Capital, Santos Said He Was “‘Just An Account Manager’ At The Company, With No Executive Power.” “Speaking on the phone, he also asserted that he was ‘just an account manager’ at the company, with no executive power. The campaign website’s current incarnation includes no reference to Harbor City, even though it describes the rest of his employment history in detail.” [Daily Beast, 4/3/22]
• October 2020: Santos Said In His Role As Regional Director At Harbor City Capital, Where He Was The Company’s “Head Guy For New York City,” He “Manage[d] All Of Our Fixed Income Assets With Arbitrage Here In New York.” Q: “Now, right before you decided to go into politics, what were you doing?” DEVOLDER-SANTOS: “Well, I still actually – up until August 1, when I initiated my leave of absence, I’m the regional director for Harbor City Capital. We’re a fixed income shop, we are top – we are within the Fortune 500 private equity firms globally. I manage all of our fixed income assets with arbitrage here in New York. I am actually Harbor City Capital’s head guy for New York City, we’re based out of Melbourne, FL. I’ve been with the company now a little under a year. […] I’m still currently employed, just on leave.” [YouTube, Metropolitan Republican Club, 10/1/20] (VIDEO) 4:20
Santos “Would Not Confirm Whether Any Federal Authority Had Questioned Him” In The Case Against Harbor City Capital. “The federally appointed receiver of Harbor City’s accounts told The Daily Beast that they could not provide any information about when the company’s relationship with Devolder-Santos came to an end.
But they noted the firm presently has no employees and its assets have been frozen since the SEC brought its case. Devolder-Santos said he ‘has cooperated with any information I’ve been asked for,’ though he would not confirm whether any federal authority had questioned him.” [Daily Beast, 4/3/22]
May 2021: Santos Incorporated The Devolder Organization, His “Family Firm,” “With The Help Of An Accountant Who Served As Harbor City’s Chief Financial Officer”
May 2021: Santos “Incorporated The Devolder Organization In Florida With The Help Of An Accountant Who Served As Harbor City’s Chief Financial Officer”
While Santos Claimed To Have “Forsaken All Gainful Endeavors,” Santos “Has In Fact Embarked On Multiple New Business Ventures In The Past Year.” “Despite his claim of having forsaken all gainful endeavors, Devolder-Santos has in fact embarked on multiple new business ventures in the past year.” [Daily Beast, 4/3/22]
• May 2021: Santos “Incorporated The Devolder Organization In Florida With The Help Of An Accountant Who Served As Harbor City’s Chief Financial Officer.” “Last May, he incorporated The Devolder Organization in Florida with the help of an accountant who served as Harbor City’s chief financial officer.” [Daily Beast, 4/3/22]
Devolder Organization LLC Was Santos’ “Family Firm” And He Was Listed As “Authorized To Manage And Control” It
May 2021: Santos Left LinkBridge Investors To Work At His “Family Firm,” Devolder Organization LLC. “As I noted, according to his campaign website, Santos recently left Linkbridge Investors to go to work at 'Devolder Organizations', which he describes as his 'family firm'. AL pulled the business records for Florida[1] and found 'Devolder Organization LLC'. Now at first I thought, where's the 's'? How do we know this is the same company? But the authorized manager of the business registration listed on the registration papers seems to settle it: George A. Devolder-Santos. The company's corporate papers appear to have been filed in May, which fits with Santos's recent departure from Linkbridge Investors.” [Talking Points Memo, 12/31/21]
• Santos Was Listed As “Authorized To Manage And Control” Devolder Organization, LLC.