Former NY Rep. George Santos pleads guilty to wire fraud and identity theft in federal case

Former U.S. Rep. George Santos pleaded guilty Monday to committing wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in connection with the federal fraud case that led to his expulsion from Congress.

The New York Republican entered the plea in a courtroom in Long Island just weeks before his trial was set to begin in early September.

Santos was indicted on felony charges that he stole from political donors, used campaign contributions to pay for personal expenses, lied to Congress about his wealth and collected unemployment benefits while actually working.

"I betrayed the trust of my constituents and supporters. I deeply regret my conduct, I fully accept responsibility for my actions, and I understand my actions have betrayed the trust of my supporters, I made misrepresentations so that the NRCC would spend money on my campaign," Santos said in court Monday.

Santos was expelled from the U.S. House after an ethics investigation found “overwhelming evidence” that he had broken the law and exploited his public position for his own profit.

The case had been set to go to trial early next month. The Monday afternoon court date on Long Island was scheduled only on Friday at the request of both prosecutors and Santos’ lawyers. A letter making the request did not specify what it would be about.

Sentencing in the case is scheduled for Feb. 7 at 10:30 a.m. While he faces a minimum of two years and a maximum of 22 years in prison, the judge in the case said Monday Santos most likely faces six to eight years in prison.

The former congressman has also been ordered to pay $397,749.97 in restitution and a forfeiture of $205,002.97.

Santos has previously pleaded not guilty to a range of alleged financial crimes, including lying to Congress about his wealth, collecting unemployment benefits while actually working and using campaign contributions to pay for personal expenses.

The 36-year-old was once touted as a rising political star after he flipped the suburban district that covers the affluent North Shore of Long Island and a slice of the New York City borough of Queens in 2022.

But his life story began unraveling before he was even sworn into office. At the time, reports emerged that he had lied about having a career at top Wall Street firms and a college degree along with other questions of his biography.

New questions then emerged about his campaign funds.

He was first indicted on federal charges in May 2023, but refused to resign from office. Santos was expelled from Congress after an ethics investigation found “overwhelming evidence” that he had broken the law and exploited his public position for his own profit.

Santos has previously maintained his innocence.

Separately Monday, in Manhattan federal court, Judge Denise Cote tossed out a lawsuit in which Santos claimed that late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, ABC and Disney committed copyright infringement and unjustly enriched themselves at his expense by using videos he made on the Cameo app for a “Jimmy Kimmel Live” segment. The judge said it was clear that Kimmel used the clips, which were also posted to YouTube, for the purposes of criticism and commentary, which is fair use.

Santos had begun selling personalized videos on Cameo in December shortly after his ouster from Congress. He subsequently launched, then quickly abandoned, a longshot bid to return to Congress as an independent earlier this year.

Two Santos campaign aides previously pleaded guilty to crimes related to the former congressman’s campaign.