CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. — Former U.S. Rep. George Santos pleaded responsible Monday to wire fraud and aggravated identification theft, short-circuiting the federal fraud case that led to his expulsion from Congress simply weeks earlier than it was set to go to trial.
“I betrayed the trust of my constituents and supporters. I deeply regret my conduct,” the New York Republican mentioned as he entered the plea in a Lengthy Island courtroom.
Santos, 36, mentioned he accepted accountability and intends to make amends. He faces greater than six years in jail beneath federal sentencing tips and owes at the least $370,000 in restitution.
Senior Federal Decide Joanna Seybert scheduled Santos’ sentencing for Feb. 7.
Santos was indicted on felony fees that he stole from political donors, used marketing campaign contributions to pay for private bills, lied to Congress about his wealth and picked up unemployment advantages whereas really working.
Santos was expelled from the U.S. Home after an ethics investigation discovered “overwhelming evidence” that he had damaged the legislation and exploited his public place for his personal revenue.
The case has been set to go to trial in early September. If that had occurred, federal prosecutors mentioned Monday that they have been ready to name some 40 witnesses, together with members of Santos’ marketing campaign, employers and members of the family.
Santos was as soon as touted as a rising political star after he flipped the suburban district that covers the prosperous North Shore of Lengthy Island and a slice of the New York Metropolis borough of Queens in 2022.
However his life story started unraveling earlier than he was even sworn into workplace. On the time, studies emerged that he had lied about having a profession at prime Wall Road corporations and a university diploma together with different questions of his biography.
New questions then emerged about his marketing campaign funds.
He was first indicted on federal fees in Could 2023, however refused to resign from workplace.
Santos has beforehand maintained his innocence, although he mentioned in an interview in December {that a} plea take care of prosecutors was “not off the table.”
Requested if he was afraid of going to jail, he instructed CBS 2 on the time: “I think everybody should be afraid of going to jail, it’s not a pretty place and uh, I definitely want to work very hard to avoid that as best as possible.”
Individually Monday, in Manhattan federal court docket, Decide Denise Cote tossed out a lawsuit wherein Santos claimed that late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, ABC and Disney dedicated copyright infringement and unjustly enriched themselves at his expense by utilizing movies he made on the Cameo app for a “Jimmy Kimmel Live” section. The choose mentioned it was clear that Kimmel used the clips, which have been additionally posted to YouTube, for the needs of criticism and commentary, which is truthful use.
Santos had begun promoting customized movies on Cameo in December shortly after his ouster from Congress. He subsequently launched, then rapidly deserted, a longshot bid to return to Congress as an unbiased earlier this yr.
In a radio interview that aired Sunday, Santos mentioned he has taken consolation in being a “somewhat private civilian” once more.
“I actually don’t miss the rubber rooster dinners and the rah-rah-rah events and fundraisers,” he mentioned of his former life.
Along with his prison trial looming, he mentioned within the WABC interview that he was “terrified.”
“This is not absolutely an easy process to go through. It really hurts and it really messes with your psychological health,” he instructed host Cindy Adams.
Because the trial date neared in latest weeks, Santos had sought to have {a partially} nameless jury, together with his attorneys arguing in court docket papers that “the mere danger of public ridicule may affect the person jurors capacity to resolve Santos’ case solely on the details and legislation as introduced in Court docket.”
He additionally needed potential jurors to fill out a written questionnaire gauging their opinions of him. His attorneys argued the survey was wanted as a result of “for all intents and purposes, Santos has already been found guilty in the court of public opinion.”
Decide Joanna Seybert agreed to maintain jurors’ identities public however mentioned no to the questionnaire.
Prosecutors, in the meantime, had been searching for to confess as proof among the monetary falsehoods Santos instructed throughout his marketing campaign, together with that he’d labored at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs and that he had operated a family-run agency with roughly $80 million in belongings,
Two Santos marketing campaign aides beforehand pleaded responsible to crimes associated to the previous congressman’s marketing campaign.
His ex-treasurer, Nancy Marks, pleaded responsible in October to a fraud conspiracy cost, implicating Santos in an alleged scheme to brighten his marketing campaign finance studies with a pretend mortgage and pretend donors. A lawyer for Marks mentioned on the time his shopper can be keen to testify towards Santos if requested.
Sam Miele, a former fundraiser for Santos, pleaded responsible a month later to a federal wire fraud cost, admitting he impersonated a high-ranking congressional aide whereas elevating cash for Santos’ marketing campaign.
