Former Long Island Representative George Santos, who was expelled from office in December, pleaded guilty to corruption charges in a federal fraud case on Monday. Santos, 36, appeared in Central Islip federal court and entered a plea deal for two counts of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. This agreement allowed him to avoid trial on nearly two dozen charges, which could have resulted in a 20-year prison sentence. Santos is scheduled to be sentenced on February 7.
The New York Republican congressman initially pleaded not guilty to various crimes related to campaign fund laundering and defrauding donors. Federal authorities alleged that Santos lied to Congress about his wealth, collected unemployment benefits while working, and misused campaign contributions for personal expenses such as purchasing designer clothes, receiving Botox injections, and taking extravagant trips. If convicted at trial, Santos could have faced up to 20 years behind bars.
While on the campaign trail in 2022, Santos notoriously made false claims about his education and work experience at New York University, Baruch College, Citigroup, and Goldman Sachs. The prosecution sought to introduce this prior conduct as evidence to support their 23 fraud charges. Santos was elected in 2022 to represent parts of Nassau County and Queens but became the first House Republican and the sixth US Representative to be expelled from office due to an ethics investigation that found overwhelming evidence of lawbreaking and personal gain.
Following his expulsion, Santos attempted an unsuccessful independent bid to unseat Suffolk County Congressman Nick LaLota. However, he abandoned the campaign due to insufficient funds. Earlier on Monday, a Manhattan federal judge dismissed Santos’ lawsuit against late-night television host Jimmy Kimmel. Santos claimed that Kimmel had misused his Cameo clips on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” to ridicule him. Judge Denise Cote ruled that the videos were used for political commentary and criticism, which aligned with their intended purpose. Kimmel had previously dismissed the lawsuit as preposterous.
