Disgraced former Rep. George Santos pleads guilty to federal charges
CNN
Former Republican Rep. George Santos pleaded guilty Monday to federal charges relating to fraudulent activity in his 2022 House campaign, just weeks before his federal trial was set to begin.
Former Republican Rep. George Santos pleaded guilty Monday to federal charges relating to fraudulent activity in his 2022 House campaign, just weeks before his federal trial was set to begin. The plea to charges of committing wire fraud and aggravated identity theft marks an end to the nearly two-year saga that saw Santos lie about his resume as he sought election to New York’s 3rd Congressional District. He won the seat but was ultimately charged with 23 federal counts and was dramatically expelled from Congress last year. Prosecutors, in two batches of charges last year, alleged Santos committed fraud related to Covid-19 unemployment benefits, misused campaign funds and lied about his personal finances on House disclosure reports. Santos pleaded not guilty in May 2023 to 13 federal charges, including seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds and two counts of making materially false statements to the US House of Representatives. And in October, he pleaded not guilty to another 10 federal charges, which included allegations that he stole donors’ identities and ran up thousands of dollars in fraudulent charges on their credit cards, embezzled cash from his company, and conspired with his former campaign treasurer to falsify donation totals to hit fundraising targets, among other offenses. Santos, 36, insisted after the second wave of charges that he would not accept a plea deal and that he would seek reelection for his seat, telling reporters in October, “The No. 1 question you all ask me is, ‘Are you going to take a plea deal?’ No. The answer is, I will not take a plea deal.”
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