Former Rep. George Santos (R-NY) pleaded guilty in a Central Islip, New York courtroom Monday, ending the two-year saga of the scandal-plagued Republican.
Santos was charged with 23 federal counts after he was caught funneling money from his campaign for his own personal purposes. CBS reported he pleaded guilty to two as part of a deal.
"I think everybody should be afraid of going to jail, it's not a pretty place and I definitely want to work very hard to avoid that as best as possible," Santos told CBS2 on Monday.
According to CBS News reporter Scot MacFarlane: "Santos plead[ed] guilty to two federal counts - Wire fraud and aggravated identify theft Two year mandatory minimum. But judge has estimated possible sentencing range between 6-8 years… later this year. Santos spoke softly, acknowledging series of crimes."
He also said that Santos's plea agreement requires him to make restitution of at least $373,749.97.
According to a 2023 Justice Department press release, he previously pleaded not guilty to 13 federal charges, including seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds, and two counts of making materially false statements to Congress.
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There were an additional 10 federal charges added to the indictment in Oct. 2023 after further investigation revealed allegations that Santos stole the identities from his donors and charged thousands of dollars on their credit cards. He was also accused of embezzling from his company and conspiring with his campaign treasurer to fake contribution documents so it would appear his campaign was raising more money than it was.
After that second addition, Santos swore he would not seek reelection but would not accept a plea deal from prosecutors.
Campaign fundraiser Sam Miele pleaded guilty to a federal wire fraud charge. Santos' former campaign treasurer, Nancy Marks, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States.
