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Former U.S. Rep. George Anthony Devolder Santos pleaded guilty in federal court in Central Islip in connection to charges of a wire fraud and aggravated identity theft scheme, officials said Monday afternoon.
Santos was charged with stealing from political donors and paying for his personal expenses with campaign contributions.
“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,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York said in a news release about the plea.
“By pleading guilty, Mr. Santos has acknowledged that he repeatedly defrauded federal and state government institutions as well as his own family, supporters and constituents,” Peace added. “His flagrant and disgraceful conduct has been exposed and will be punished. Mr. Santos’s conviction demonstrates this Office’s enduring commitment to rooting out corruption and grift by public officials.”
Congress had already expelled the disgraced Republican after an ethics investigation found “overwhelming evidence” that Santos had broken the law.
Now, Santos faces more than six years in prison under federal guidelines at sentencing in February and owes at least $370,000 in restitution.
The guilty plea comes ahead of a trial that had been slated for early September.
Santos’ court date and subsequent plea has been closely monitored.
Shortly after his plea, U.S. Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, a Republican released a statement.
“Infamous fabulist George Santos was brought to justice today for defrauding the members of the public he was elected to represent, and Santos’s guilty plea further reinforces the fact that my successful bipartisan campaign to expel him from Congress as punishment for his misdeeds was the correct course of action,” D’Esposito said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story
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Adina Genn
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