Remember Rich Osthoff? He’s the formerly homeless Navy veteran who was duped by Rep. George Santos out of $3,000, raised via a GoFundMe to pay for surgery for the man’s dying service dog. Well, according to Patch, Osthoff is getting a new puppy.
Osthoff told Patch he was listening to the Howard Stern Show Monday when Stern’s wife, Beth Stern, said the North Shore Animal League America wanted to gift the veteran with a new puppy—lifetime medical bills included.
Howard Stern serves as a national spokesperson for the Long Island shelter.
"Beth made my day when she mentioned the offer," Osthoff told Patch.
RELATED STORY: Formerly homeless veteran confirms that Rep. George Santos stole $3,000 raised for his dying dog
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"I was touched by the emotional impact Sapphire's story had on her, which was evident in her voice. It's comforting and reassuring,” Osthoff said. “There really are caring people out there."
Osthoff told CNN’s Don Lemon last Thursday that his pit bull terrier Sapphire had been diagnosed with a fast-growing tumor in 2015. Osthoff, who was unhoused at the time, says he desperately needed help. As CNN reports, his mentor and friend, Michael Boll, founder of New Jersey Veterans Network, tried to get Osthoff the help he and his dog needed.
Boll says a friend helped to connect Osthoff with Santos, who then set up a GoFundMe for Sapphire. The fundraiser raised $3,000 in about two months, according to Boll, but the money never went to Osthoff for his dog. In fact, the veteran says Santos insisted he take the dog to his veterinary clinic. Santos even said he’d pay the vet back for gas and tolls to take the dog to the Long Island clinic. “I was even gullible enough to give him my banking routing number to him because he said he would put the money directly into my account. That never happened.”
Osthoff, 47, says he was offered a puppy but will likely get a 1-to-2-year-old instead, "so we can get it right into PTSD training.”
When Ostoff’s story broke, Santos told CNN, “I have no clue what he’s talking about, and the crazy part is that anyone that knows me, knows I’d go to hell and back for a dog and especially a veteran.”
According to Law&Crime, District Attorney Melinda Katz is currently looking into Santos about the possible scam.
Katz’s spokesperson told Law&Crime, “While as a matter of course we don’t comment on open investigations, we are reviewing whether Queens County has jurisdiction over any potential criminal offenses.”
This month, a complaint was filed with the Federal Election Commission, accusing Santos of a plethora of campaign finance violations, The Washington Post reports. Filed by the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center, the complaint could launch an investigation by the federal regulator.
CNBC reported that during the 2020 and 2022 election cycles, a member of Santos’ campaign team had a plan to dupe donors by impersonating Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s chief of staff, Dan Meyer.
The Santos staffer’s name was actually Sam Miele, according to CNBC.
Santos is also embroiled in an investigation by the Nassau County, New York, district attorney’s office and authorities in Brazil involving a fraud case dating back to 2008.
