Ex-Rep. George Santos expected to plead guilty to multiple counts in fraud case, AP source says
(AP) — Former U.S. Rep. George Santos is expected to plead guilty to multiple counts in his federal fraud case, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Santos, a Republican from New York, is expected to enter the plea at a court hearing planned for Monday on Long Island, the person said.
The person could not publicly discuss details of the plea and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Messages were left seeking comment with three lawyers representing Santos.
The court hearing was scheduled for Monday afternoon after prosecutors and Santos’ lawyers jointly requested one on Friday. They also sought and received a delay in certain pre-trial deadlines.
The news comes just weeks before jury selection was set to begin on Sept. 9. Santos has previously pleaded not guilty to a range of financial crimes, including lying to Congress about his wealth, collecting unemployment benefits while actually working and using campaign contributions to pay for personal expenses such as designer clothing.
Prosecutors recently told the judge that the trial could last three weeks because they expected to call at least three dozen witnesses, including some victims of Santos’ alleged crimes.
Santos has previously maintained his innocence and called the investigation a “witch hunt,” claims that prosecutors called “baseless” in a recent court filing.
Two campaign aides to Santos have already pleaded guilty to crimes related to the former congressman’s campaign. Last October, his ex-treasurer, Nancy Marks, pleaded guilty to a fraud conspiracy charge and implicated Santos in a scheme to embellish his campaign finance reports with a fake loan and fake donors. A lawyer for Marks said at the time his client would be willing to testify against Santos if asked, saying she had been “mentally seduced” by Santos.
A month later, Sam Miele, a former fundraiser for Santos, pleaded guilty to a federal wire fraud charge, admitting he impersonated a high-ranking congressional aide while raising campaign cash for Santos.
The New York Republican was expelled from Congress in December after an ethics investigation found “overwhelming evidence” he had broken the law and exploited his public position for his own profit.