The lawsuit alleges that Kimmel misrepresented himself to induce Santos to create personal videos to “take advantage of and mock” his “social personality.”
Through Cameo, Santos has received requests from individuals and businesses for personalized video messages. Without Santos' knowledge, Kimmel submitted at least 14 applications that used false names and narratives, according to the complaint.
Starting in December, the videos ran on a segment titled “Would Santos Say That?” “The suit says.
In one clip, Santos offers congratulations to the alleged winner of a beef-eating contest, calling the feat of consuming 6 pounds of ground beef in less than 30 minutes “amazing and impressive.”
“Frankly, Kimmel's fake requests were laughable, but what he did was a clear violation of copyright law,” Robert Fanton, Santos' attorney, said in an email.
Santos is seeking statutory damages totaling $750,000 for the five videos he created that played on the show and various social media platforms. He also requests that other damages be determined at trial.
The former lawmaker faces a slew of criminal charges, including allegations that he defrauded campaign donors, lied to Congress about his wealth, received unemployment benefits while working, and used campaign contributions to pay for personal expenses such as designer clothes. He also allegedly made unauthorized charges to the credit cards of some of his donors.
Santos pleaded not guilty in the revised indictment in October.
Democrat Tom Suozzi won Tuesday in the special election for Santos' former seat.
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