GoFundMe blocked George Santos after he allegedly pocketed thousands from a fundraiser for a dying service dog

Rep. George Santos, the embattled Republican congressman from New York, is under fire for allegations that he stole thousands meant to pay for life-saving surgery for a homeless veteran's dying service dog. GoFundMe confirmed to CBS News it blocked the email associated with the fundraiser in 2016.

Santos has denied the claims.

Richard Osthoff, a U.S. Navy veteran, says that Santos posed as the owner of a pet charity under the alias Anthony Devolder. Osthoff told Patch that he was living in a chicken coop on the side of a New Jersey highway in 2016 when his service dog, Sapphire, developed a life-threatening stomach tumor.

A vet tech knowing Osthoff's financial situation recommended he get in touch with Santos, who purported to run Friends of Pets United, which could help the veteran secure funding for Sapphire's life-saving surgery, he said.

Neither the IRS nor the attorney general's offices in New York and New Jersey were able to find any record of a registered charity by that name, reported the New York Times.