Disgraced former congressman George Santos has pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft and wire fraud charges.
Santos, 36, entered the guilty plea on Monday afternoon in court in Central Islip, New York. The plea deal comes with an estimated six to eight-year prison sentence, CBS News reports. He will also have to repay more than $300,000 to his victims, prosecutors said. Santos will be sentenced on February 7.
The ex-lawmaker spoke in court and admitted to wire fraud, stealing credit card information for personal use and lying to the Federal Election Commission. Santos spoke too quickly and the judge had to ask him to slow down, according to CBS News.
“My actions have betrayed the trust of my supporters and constituents,” Santos told the court.
“I hope that by facing these consequences head on, I hope that I can demonstrate my commitment to change and to earning your forgiveness,” Santos later said, speaking to reporters outside the courthouse. “I do not ask for your forgiveness, as I know that must be earned through actions, not words.”
The hearing was added to the court’s schedule just days ago, on Friday evening. Reports emerged over the weekend that the expelled representative planned to plead guilty to avoid trial.
“Our democracy depends upon a fair and transparent election process, and as part of that process, it is imperative that candidates for elective elected office follow the law and that they act with integrity and transparency,” Nicole Argentieri, principal deputy assistant attorney general, said on Monday. “George Santos did none of those things.”
Scott D’Alessandro, assistant special agent-in-charge of the local office of IRS Criminal Investigation, said Santos’ crimes are “not victimless.”
”The ultimate victim is the erosion of trust that a crime like this causes the American people’s confidence in our country’s campaign finance systems,” D’Alessandro said.
The New York representative was expelled from Congress on December 1 last year, becoming the first representative to be ousted in more than 20 years.
Santos was originally indicted in May 2023 on 13 federal charges and then in October, prosecutors released a 23-count superseding indictment. Santos originally pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The ex-congressman’s lies have followed him for much of his political career. He falsely claimed his family is Jewish, later claiming he meant “Jew-ish.” Santos also claimed in November 2022 that four of his employees died in the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting. A review of the victims byThe New York Times found that none of the victims had ties to Santos.
He also claimed his mother was at the World Trade Center during the September 11 terrorist attacks despite immigration records indicating she wasn’t in the US at the time. A Navy veteran from New Jersey accused Santos of scamming him out of $3,000 by pocketing money from a GoFundMe to help pay for his service dog’s surgey.
The 36-year-old has also denied performing as a drag queen despite photographic evidence. He later admitted he had, saying: “I was young and I had fun at a festival. Sue me for having a life.”
Prosecutors say Santos made personal purchases with campaign funds, stole a donor’s credit card information and falsified a loan in order to qualify for support from the Republican party.
He was also charged with unemployment fraud and lying on House financial disclosure documents.
Santos’ trial was set to begin in September with an anonymous jury, which his legal team requested, arguing the ex-representative “has already been found guilty in the court of public opinion.”
Santos has called the prosecution a “witch hunt” and publicly denied reports of taking a plea deal. However, court filings from December indicated his lawyers and federal prosecutors were engaged in plea deal negotiations.
Ever since becoming the sixth congressman in history to be expelled, Santos has attempted to capitalize off his fame. He launched a Cameo account just days after his expulsion, where users can pay to have him record personalized video messages. In April, he even began offering videos from his drag queen persona, Kitara Ravache.
Santos claimed he “made more money in seven days than I would have made [in] an entire year in Congress” after launching his Cameo.
He also recently launched an OnlyFans account to give subscribers, who must pay $29.99 a month, “full behind the scenes access to everything I’m working on.” Despite the site being known for adult content, Santos promised to keep it appropriate.