Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell has been accused of violating immigration and employment legislation to maintain his unlawful live-in Brazilian nanny within the nation, in response to a pair of just lately filed complaints.
When his South American babysitter’s momentary work authorization was about to run out in 2022, he and spouse Brittany Swalwell lied to the feds to maintain Amanda Barbosa working for them, a brand new grievance filed Tuesday with the Division of Labor claimed.
One other grievance, filed to the Division of Homeland safety in February and beforehand unreported, accuses Swalwell of paying the nanny beneath the desk with marketing campaign funds for a interval of two years when she didn’t maintain legitimate work authorization.
“Barbosa seems in quite a few social media images with the Swalwell household all through 2023 and 2024, indicating continued shut affiliation and ongoing childcare duties regardless of the absence of identified lawful work authorization,” the grievance to DHS, dated Feb. 16, alleged.
The embattled California gubernatorial hopeful first employed Barbosa, 33, within the fall of 2021 to take care of his three kids.
Barbosa had come to the US from Rio de Janeiro in January 2021 on an au pair visa. She was paid $3,914 in marketing campaign funds that yr, in response to an evaluation of Federal Election Fee knowledge by The Submit.
She continued working for the Golden State politician as a live-in nanny the subsequent yr, receiving $46,930 in marketing campaign funds in 2022, FEC information present.
Along with her au pair visa coming to an finish in December 2022, Swalwell started the method of sponsoring her for a inexperienced card, in response to a everlasting labor certification utility reviewed by The Submit.
Whereas that drawn-out course of performed out, she enrolled at neighborhood faculty, in response to her LinkedIn, and beneath scholar visa guidelines, wasn’t allowed to work off campus.
However that doesn’t seem to have stopped Swalwell, whose different worldwide fumbles have included the notorious Fang Fang affair.
Social media images from her since-deleted Fb account present Barbosa caring for the youngsters at quite a lot of household occasions over the subsequent two years, even being so daring as posting images on the annual White Home picnic in 2023 and 2024, the place she’s holding up the youngest little one, then two, in her arms whereas sporting a blue sundress.
In one other snap, on Halloween in 2024, she’s taking the youngsters trick or treating whereas carrying a Brazil soccer shirt.
Her LinkedIn web page, additionally deleted because the allegations, stated she labored as a non-public childcare supplier repeatedly from 2021 to current, in response to a screenshot included within the complaints.
On paper, the direct marketing campaign funds to Barbosa had stopped.
As an alternative, $52,262 in marketing campaign bills for “childcare” have been written off to Swalwell himself, FEC information reviewed by The Submit present. The grievance alleges that was a fraudulent workaround to maintain Barbosa off the books whereas she wasn’t licensed to work within the US.
“It’s a brazen disregard for the legislation. He’s harboring and using an unlawful,” slammed California filmmaker and activist Joel Gilbert, who filed the grievance.
The everlasting labor certification was authorized in 2024, the Division of Labor advised The Submit.
By 2025, Barbosa was again on the books, receiving $38,905 in marketing campaign funds from Swalwell, in response to FEC knowledge.
The California Dem is a staunch defender of unlawful immigrants, having argued for “reforms that would supply a option to carry undocumented employees out of the shadows” as a part of his immigration place.
His marketing campaign unraveled Friday after 4 ladies reported horrific acts of sexual assault and misconduct — together with a former staffer who claims Swalwell raped her when she was drunk and left her bruised and bleeding throughout an alleged 2024 assault.
He slammed the sexual assault allegations as “completely false” and vowed to “combat them with all the things I’ve.”
Swalwell is already beneath investigation by the FEC for spending greater than $200,000 in marketing campaign funds on private babysitting based mostly on a grievance filed to the company in February, in response to Gilbert who additionally filed the grievance.
Although he did get them to concern a 2022 opinion giving him the inexperienced mild to make use of contributions for in a single day childcare if the bills resulted from journey for marketing campaign occasions, the FEC grievance, filed in February, alleges the prolific nature of the funds clearly present they have been made for normal childcare bills reasonably than the occasional marketing campaign journey.
The FEC wasn’t instantly out there for remark. There have been no findings of wrongdoing.
Swalwell has beforehand been within the highlight for his lavish bills and residing above his means regardless of the couple bringing dwelling greater than $400,000 in mixed revenue, together with dipping into retirement funds and carrying excessive quantities of debt, whereas spending on yachts, fancy motels and limo service.
Within the wake of the sexual assault allegations, which Swalwell has thus far denied, on-line betting odds shifted towards billionaire progressive Tom Steyer successful California’s governor’s race.
The open main is on June 2.
Swalwell didn’t reply to a request for remark in regards to the allegations and Barbosa couldn’t be reached.
