Tiffany Lee Devolder Santos - sister to serial liar and Congressman George Santos - still owes nearly $20,000 in back rent on a Queens apartment that they temporarily shared, a lawyer on the case told Insider Thursday.
In February, Devolder Santos settled her longstanding eviction case in Queens County Civil Court, agreeing that she had failed to pay more than $40,000 in rent on an Elmhurst apartment, according to court documents. She entered into an agreement to pay back $19,525 of that by making $1,000 monthly payments from March through October 31, 2024, according to the settlement.
When reached by phone at NYC Property Partners, Insider asked attorney Todd Rothenberg - the lawyer who represented the Queens landlord in court - whether Devolder Santos has paid back the rent she owed on the apartment.
"Nope," he said.
When asked if Santos' little sister has made any payments, he said she had not, before quickly ending the call.
Insider attempted to follow up with Rothenberg by email, but got no response Thursday morning.
Two lawyers for legal services who represented Devolder Santos in the case didn't immediately return emails seeking comment. Insider was unsuccessful at contacting Devolder Santos for comment.
Santos had listed the Elmhurst apartment on federal campaign finance loans, according to the Daily Beast.
The Daily Beast reported in January that he said he was only staying there temporarily.
On Thursday afternoon, Santos told Insider by text message that he never lived at the Elmhurst apartment.
"As for my sisters Perosnal (sic) dealings I'm unaware of them and find it interesting that the struggles of a private citizen newsworthy," Santos told Insider by text.
According to court documents, Santos' sister vacated the property on January 18.
On Thursday, a federal judge on Long Island unsealed the identities of two family members - his father and aunt - who who were bail suretors to keep Santos out of jail. He is awaiting trial on charges that he stole donations from his Long Island campaign operation, illegally took pandemic employment funds, and lied to Congress on financial disclosure documents.
Santos fought hard to keep the identities of those individuals secret. His lawyer argued in a recent court filing that "the political temperature in this Country and acts of political violence that occur" necessitates that the sponsors not be identified to the public.
Santos' lawyer Joseph Murray had previously said that at least one of the three bail sponsors was a family member and that he feared they would back out of the bond if their identities were disclosed.
Santos became a household name soon after his election last year, when a series of stories revealed that he consistently told absurd and apparently unnecessary lies about his life.
Santos has lied about being Jewish, his mother dying in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, working in finance at two well-known firms, owning a "family's firm" that managed $80 million in assets, employing people who died in the Pulse Nightclub shooting, producing the infamous Broadway flop "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark," graduating from Baruch College, going to Baruch College on a volleyball scholarship, claiming to be a star player on the Baruch College volleyball team, graduating from New York University, owning several New York properties, and not performing in drag while living in Brazil, among other things.
Jacob Shamsian contributed to this report.
This story was originally published at 1:18 p.m. and updated at 3 p.m. to include a comment from Santos.