George Santos pleads guilty to fraud and identity theft

Former US representative George Santos has pleaded guilty to committing wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

Santos admitted he filed fraudulent Federal Election Commission (FEC) reports, embezzled funds from campaign donors, charged credit cards without authorization, and stole identities.

He also pleaded guilty to obtaining unemployment benefits through fraud and lying in reports to the House of Representatives, according to the Department of Justice (DoJ).

“I deeply regret my conduct, I fully accept responsibility for my actions, and I understand my actions have betrayed the trust of my supporters," Santos told a New York court on August 19th.

The guilty plea comes just weeks before Santos was supposed to stand trial on 23 federal charges, including money laundering and theft of public funds.

He was removed from Congress in December after 105 of his fellow Republicans joined the overwhelming majority that voted to expel him. Santos was just the third lawmaker since the Civil War to be expelled from the House of Representatives.

Speaking to reporters after the guilty plea, he said: "Pleading guilty is a step I never imagined I’d take, but it is a necessary one because it is the right thing to do.”

"It’s not only a recognition of my misrepresentations to others, but more profoundly, it is my own recognition of the lies I told myself over these past years.”

Santos “lied to the American people about his personal finances and campaign supporters,” said Nicole M. Argentieri, head of DoJ’s Criminal Division.

“In doing so, Santos violated laws designed to ensure that the public has accurate information about the personal finances of individuals who seek to represent them in Congress and how their political campaigns are funded,” Argentieri said.

As part of the plea agreement, Santos must pay over $373,000 in restitution and forfeiture of more than $205,000.

“Today, for what may seem like the first time since he started his campaign for Congress, Mr. Santos told the truth about his criminal schemes. He admitted to lying, stealing and conning people,” said US Attorney Breon Peace in a statement.

“His flagrant and disgraceful conduct has been exposed and will be punished,” Peace said.

Santos is scheduled to be sentenced in February and faces a minimum of two years in prison and a maximum of 22 years in prison.

Santos was elected to Congress in 2022 but soon reports emerged he lied about certain parts of his biography, including claims he was Jewish. This was followed by a House Ethics report that found “substantial evidence” that he “violated federal criminal laws.”

Santos initially denied any wrongdoing, claiming he was a target of a political “witch hunt.”