Justice Department Charging Rep. George Santos In Federal Probe: Report

The Department of Justice has filed criminal charges against Rep. George Santos  (R-N.Y.), CNN is reporting .

The charges haven’t been announced, but the controversial member of Congress is expected to appear as soon as Wednesday at federal court in New York’s Eastern District.

A request for comment to Santos’ office was not immediately returned.

ABC News reported  that the nature of the charges are unclear since the charges are under seal. CNN is speculating that the charges could be connected to allegations of false statements in Santos’ campaign finance filings and other claims that have been the subject of investigations by the FBI and the Justice Department’s public integrity prosecutors in New York and Washington.

According to NBC News, two federal law enforcement sources confirmed back in December that prosecutors from the Eastern District of New York were examining Santos’ finances, including potential irregularities involving financial disclosures and loans he made to his congressional campaign.

In February, the FBI said that it was also looking into the case of a Navy veteran who accused Santos of stealing thousands of dollars from a GoFundMe campaign that was supposed to cover lifesaving surgery for the man’s service dog.

Since being sworn into Congress in January, Santos has faced criticism for lying about, among other things, his educational background, his work history, his ethnic background and how he financed his campaign.

Despite this, Santos announced his reelection bid last month  — even without, as CNN’s Anderson Cooper pointed out , the support of his party on Capitol Hill, party leadership back in his district, or most of his constituents.