Embattled GOP Rep. Santos' Lie to Judge Caught on Audio

"Yup," Santos responded, according to the audio clip.

Politico reported that Santos, who identified himself as "George Anthony Devolder Santos" in the audio, was appearing in court to let the judge know that Trelha, who was charged with fraud in relation to a ATM skimming scam, would have lodging arrangements through the course of his case, with the family working through Santos.

The freshman congressman has been under fire since winning his Long Island, New York, seat in November after his claims on his resume and about his background proved to be untrue.

A Goldman Sachs spokesperson told The New York Times in December that Santos never worked for the firm. Santos himself later told the New York Post that he made only "capitol introductions" between clients and investors in his capacity as vice president of Link Bridge, a firm that did business with both Goldman Sachs and Citigroup.

"I am not a criminal," Santos told the Post. "This [controversy] will not deter me from having good legislative success. I will be effective. I will be good."

According to Politico, Trelha eventually pleaded guilty to felony access device fraud and spent seven months in jail in the case. He was deported to Brazil in 2018.

He told the news outlet that Santos was not, in fact, a "family friend," but that the two met on social media while both were in Orlando, Florida.

The falsehoods surrounding Santos have led to at least seven state, federal, and congressional investigations into Santos' background and finances, The Hill reported earlier this month.

Despite the probes, Santos said on Feb. 14 that he would not resign his seat.

"Let me be very clear, I’m not leaving, I’m not hiding and I am NOT backing down," he tweeted at the time. "I will continue to work for #NY03 [New York's 3rd Congressional District] and no amount of Twitter trolling will stop me. I'm looking forward to getting what needs to be done, DONE!"