(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Federal prosecutors clinched a major victory on Monday after disgraced former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y. entered a guilty plea over several crimes, putting an end to one of the most infamous careers in recent American politics.
Santos pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges after he was busted for stealing campaign funds for personal use.
He represented New York’s Third Congressional District from January to December 2023, when the House expelled him.
During his time in Congress, Santos earned a 100% conservative rating from Heritage Action, the PAC of the Heritage Foundation. His ouster diminished the already slim Republican majority, further empowering Democrats.
As part of his plea deal, Santos agreed to pay $373,749.97 in restitution and $205,002.97 in forfeiture, according to a DOJ press statement. Santos faces a minimum of two years in federal prison.
An emotional Santos addressed reporters outside the Manhattan courthouse after entering the guilty plea.
“This plea is not just an admission of guilt. It’s an acknowledgment that I need to be held accountable like any other American that breaks the law,” Santos said, through tears.
U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York remarked that Monday seemed to be the first time Santos has been truthful about what transpired with his campaign finances.
“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,” he wrote in a press release.
He 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.”
Santos’s guilty plea came after his campaign treasurer, Nancy Marks, pleaded guilty to similar charges on Oct. 5, 2023.
Santos and Marks, according to prosecutors, executed a fraudulent scheme to obtain money for the campaign by submitting highly inflated reports to the Federal Election Commission. This scheme allowed them to inflate their finances to mislead the FEC, the national party and its supporters.
Read the full charges here.
