The House Ethics Committee announced in a letter Thursday an expanded investigation of Rep. George Santos, to include allegations that he fraudulently obtained unemployment insurance benefits, marking a departure from the panel’s typical practice of staying out of matters that coincide with federal charges against lawmakers.

The move comes a month after the freshman GOP congressman from New York was indicted on federal charges alleging he defrauded his donors, used their money for his personal benefit and wrongfully claimed unemployment benefits.

Santos faces seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds and two counts of lying to the House of Representatives on financial forms. The congressman pleaded not guilty in May and vowed to prove his innocence.

The Justice Department declined to comment on the ethics panel’s announcement Thursday. Santos’s congressional office also declined to comment on the matter.

The congressman stepped down from his committee assignments in January. But he has vowed not to resign from office, and in April he announced that he would run for reelection. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., rebuffed a Democratic-led effort to expel the embattled lawmaker, saying he deserved due process, which McCarthy argued the bipartisan committee could provide.

“I think these accusations are very serious,” McCarthy told reporters last month, but “you have to have process.”

In addition to the federal charges, the New York congressman was the subject of complaints filed by watchdog groups with the Federal Election Commission this year that accused Santos of misrepresenting campaign spending and using campaign resources to cover personal expenses, among other allegations. In January, the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section asked the FEC to hold off on any enforcement action against Santos, a sign that prosecutors were potentially examining overlapping issues. In March, a House ethics panel said it would investigate Santos and established a bipartisan subcommittee to examine claims about him, including about his past business practices, campaign finance expenditures and an allegation of sexual misconduct.

While the ethics committee traditionally paused investigations into lawmakers charged with federal crimes so as not to interfere with the work of the Justice Department, members had previously signaled that they would continue with their inquiry into Santos. The committee’s latest statement acknowledged “the risks associated with dual investigations,” noting that they’re “in communication with the Department of Justice to mitigate the potential risks while still meeting the Committee’s obligations to safeguard the integrity of the House.”

The panel also said in Thursday’s announcement that it has “issued over 30 subpoenas and more than 40 voluntary requests for information.”

The Washington Post’s Devlin Barrett, Shayna Jacobs, Isaac Stanley-Becker, Perry Stein and John Wagner contributed to this report.