Judge Warned George Santos Dad To Wield 'Moral Control' Over Son

BAYSIDE, QUEENS — A federal judge made sure Rep. George Santos's father and aunt knew exactly what they were getting into after paying the embattled Republican's $500,000 bond last month, a newly released court transcript shows.

Federal Court Magistrate Judge Anne Shields gave Gercino dos Santos and Elma Preven, Santos's father and aunt, a lengthy warning after they bailed out the lawmaker following charges of fraud and money laundering in May.

"It's not always about money," Shields said during the bond hearing last month. "It's about how well you know someone, whether you can exercise a certain amount of control or moral control over the person so that they understand what you are doing for them," reads a court transcript released on Friday.

Santos's father bailed out his son despite not speaking to him "in the past" as much as he does now, the transcript shows.

Neither dos Santos or Preven own a home that they could put up as collateral for the bond, the documents revealed on Friday.

"This could go against your credit rating, your ability to get a mortgage," Shields said. "You'd owe that money to the government. So I want to make sure that you 10 both understand that."

Santos is awaiting trial after he pleaded not guilty in federal court to a 13-count indictment, including seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, two counts of making false statements to the House, and one count of theft of public funds.