Rep. George Santos Appears to Have Ripped Off His Former Boss's Resume in Crafting His Backstory

Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images Rep. George Santos outside his office on Capitol Hill

Days after a Republican official told reporters that embattled Rep. George Santos once lied about being a college volleyball "star," a new report suggests that some of the "key elements" of Santos' story bear a striking resemblance to the resume of his former boss, Pablo Oliveira.

Inside Edition reports that Oliveira, who was Santos' boss at financial services company LinkBridge Investors, graduated from Baruch University, where he played on the school's winning volleyball team and was a two-time All-American volleyball player. A LinkedIn profile appears to back up Oliveira's resume, though little is known about LinkBridge itself.

While it's unclear whether Santos, 34, intentionally appropriated Oliveira's background, the Republican lawmaker has told a similar story — albeit one that wasn't true.

Santos has said he graduated from Baruch College in 2010, writing in a resume given to the the Nassau County Republican Committee in 2020 that he graduated summa cum laude with a 3.89 GPA.

On a biography on the National Republican Congressional Committee's website, he also cited a stint at New York University — a similar claim made on the 2020 resume, where he said he obtained an M.B.A. at the school after scoring 710 on the GMAT.

RELATED: Fact-Checking the George Santos Claims: From Goldman Sachs Employee to College 'Volleyball Star'

Alejandra Villa Loarca/Newsday RM via Getty George Santos

After The New York Times investigated Santos' background in December and found many claims to be unsubstantiated, the Republican admitted that he had "embellished" some portions of his resume.

"I didn't graduate from any institution of higher learning," he told the outlet. "I'm embarrassed and sorry for having embellished my resume. I own up to that ... we do stupid things in life."

In a press conference held earlier this week, Joseph Cairo, the chair of the Nassau County Republican Committee, told reporters that Santos once claimed he had played volleyball at Baruch.

"He told me, I remember specifically, 'I'm into sports a little bit.' That he was a star on the Baruch volleyball team and that they won the league championship. What can I tell you?" Cairo said to laughs from the others in the room.

RELATED: Republican Official Says George Santos Lied About 3.9 GPA and Being a College Volleyball 'Star'

Sipa via AP Images George Santos

Cairo and other New York Republicans have called on Santos to resign, saying: "George Santos' campaign last year, 2022, was a campaign of deceit, lies, fabrication."

"He deceived voters. His lies were not mere fibs. He disgraced the House of Representatives … He's not welcome here at Republican headquarters," Cairo said.

Republicans in Congress have also called for Santos to resign. Four House Republicans released statements on Wednesday saying the freshman lawmaker "does not have the ability to serve here in the House of Representatives."

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Late last month, the Nassau County District Attorney's Office announced it was looking into Santos and reports surfaced that federal investigators had also opened an inquiry into Santos' financial disclosures, which have raised many questions.

Even amid investigations and mounting calls from those in his own party to resign, Santos remains defiant, telling reporters gathered outside his office on Thursday, "I will not resign. I will be continuing to hold my office elected by the people."