Former Long Island Congressman George Santos pleads guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, avoiding a trial in federal court next month

Former Long Island Congressman George Santos pleaded guilty to federal crimes after admitting to a series of schemes during his campaign, including filing fraudulent campaign finance reports and stealing from his donors' credit cards. His unlikely rise to Congress and political collapse capped his exposure as a notorious liar.

Santos, who represented parts of Nassau County and Queens for about 11 months before being expelled from Congress, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. He faces a minimum of two years in prison on the identity theft charge; the wire fraud charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, with no minimum sentence.

The sentence on both counts will be served consecutively, said U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert, who accepted Santos' guilty plea.

The verdict was scheduled for February 7.

“I have betrayed the trust of my supporters and voters and I take full responsibility. I will do my best to make amends and learn from this experience,” a sullen-looking Santos, who at times appeared to become emotional, told the court shortly before pleading guilty.

The playful Santos, who had joked with reporters at previous court appearances and appeared cheerful when asked about his designer outfits, was gone. Dressed in gray pants and a black blazer, Santos appeared calm on Monday and placed his hands on the table during the hearing.

U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace said Santos “finally told the truth under oath.”

“And the truth is that he is a criminal,” Peace said, calling the plot a “fraud of unprecedented proportions” that allowed Santos to enter Congress with a “campaign of lies.”

Prosecutors said Santos, along with his treasurer, Nancy Marks, filed false reports with the Federal Election Commission during the 2022 election cycle and inflated campaign fundraising to qualify for the donor grant program administered by the party's national committee. Santos and Marks, who has pleaded guilty to their involvement in the scheme and is awaiting sentencing, falsely reported on forms that 11 of their family members had contributed to Santos' campaign. Santos also falsely claimed he loaned his campaign $500,000, even though he had less than $8,000 in his personal and business bank accounts.

Prosecutors also said Santos repeatedly charged his campaign donors' credit cards without their authorization between July 2020 and October 2022. Additionally, Santos received more than $24,000 in unemployment benefits from New York State, even though he was employed during that time, prosecutors said. And Santos made several false statements in his financial disclosure statement to the House of Representatives, greatly exaggerating his income and assets, prosecutors said.

Santos, 36, of Whitestone, Queens, was also cited at sentencing for four misdemeanor counts that can be used against him: device fraud by using other people's personal identification and credit card numbers without their knowledge; wire fraud by submitting false information about Redstone Strategies and using funds he received for campaign advertising for his personal benefit; theft of public funds by receiving unemployment benefits while employed between June 2020 and April 2021; and falsely reporting his income and assets on his financial disclosure statements.

The agreement allows Santos to avoid a lengthy trial. He made his guilty plea before Seybert in federal court in Central Islip just weeks before jury selection began on September 9.

Opening arguments in the case were scheduled to begin Sept. 16. Prosecutors said last week they expected to call at least three dozen witnesses over the next three weeks. Several pretrial matters, including a motion by prosecutors to allow testimony about Santos' past lies, have not been decided. Other deadlines in the case have been pushed back until after Monday's hearing.

As part of the deal, Santos also agreed to pay a fine of $205,002.97, which he must pay 30 days before sentencing, and $373,749.97 in restitution.

Santos' defense attorney Joe Murray raised the possibility that Santos might not be able to pay the fine by the deadline set out in the settlement agreement and asked for assurances from the government that it would not impose further sanctions against Santos if he missed the deadline.

“We will do our best, Your Honor,” said defense attorney Andrew Mancilla.

But Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Harris simply said: “The agreement is the agreement.”

When asked if Santos was employed, Mancilla said Santos had “multiple jobs” and confirmed that he writes articles for the South Shore Press. Santos recently tweeted links to the published articles.

Among other things, Santos falsely stated that he had graduated from Baruch College – where he received a volleyball scholarship – and New York University and had worked at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs.

Santos was only the sixth congressman in United States history to be expelled from the body by his colleagues.

Prosecutors accuse Santos of fraudulently claiming approved unemployment benefits during the coronavirus pandemic, lying on his congressional financial disclosure forms, filing fraudulent fundraising reports to solicit support for his congressional campaign, and stealing thousands of dollars from his campaign donors by charging their credit cards without authorization.

Santos began his congressional career with intense media attention after the New York Times reported in December 2022 on a series of lies Santos told during the campaign about his biography and his personal and professional life.

His victory was part of a red wave that swept across Long Island in 2022, when Gov. Kathy Hochul lost the 3rd Congressional District by 14 points. Many credit Hochul's opponent, former Rep. Lee Zeldin, with helping candidates on the ballot, such as Santos and 4th Congressional candidate Rep. Anthony D'Esposito.

Santos admitted to misrepresenting parts of his past but rejected calls for his resignation – even from some members of the Republican Party. After his arrest and indictment, he vowed to run for re-election.

But last December, he was expelled from Congress after an investigation by the House Ethics Committee found that he had engaged in “unlawful conduct” and used campaign funds for personal expenses such as Botox treatments.

He was the first congressman to be removed from office without first being convicted in a criminal court.

Santos was the third official associated with his campaign to plead guilty in the case.

Campaign treasurer Nancy Marks admitted in October that she filed false reports with both the FEC and the Republican National Committee. The reports included the names of false donors in order to artificially inflate the amount of money raised by Santos to meet the benchmarks required for financial support from the committee.

Marks faces up to 5 years in prison, as well as restitution and a fine. Her sentencing is scheduled for November 12 in federal court in Central Islip.

Former fundraiser Samuel Miele told Seybert during his guilty plea in November that he posed as a top aide to a senior congressman – identified as former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy – when he solicited a donor for a financial contribution to the Santos campaign in August 2021. Miele's sentence is scheduled to be announced on November 1.

After Santos confessed and the courtroom emptied, he remained seated at the defense table, covering his face with his hands and seemingly grasping the moment. Then he put on his sunglasses and walked outside.

In front of a large number of journalists, Santos read a typed statement: He had allowed his “vision” to cloud his judgment and led him to make “unethical decisions”.

“Pleading guilty is a step I never thought possible, but it is necessary because it is the right thing to do,” Santos told reporters, adding that he was taking responsibility because he had to.

“There is no other way,” Santos said.

Two of his lawyers, Andrew Mancilla and Robert Fantone, said they were ready to try the case.

“At the end of the day, George just wants to take responsibility,” Fantone said.

The lawyers added that a trial would have been difficult for the victims of the plot.

“He is used to being hounded by the media and he did not want that for the victims,” ​​Fantone said.