Former congressman George Santos (R., N.Y.) pleaded guilty on Monday to charges of identity theft and wire fraud in a New York federal courthouse. He faces no fewer than six years in federal prison and owes restitution of at least $370,000.
“I accept full responsibility for my actions,” Santos told the judge. “I understand my actions have betrayed the trust of my supporters and my constituents.”
The plea deal stems from charges filed in 2023, with Santos having been accused of stealing money from donors for personal use — he admitted to using campaign donations on designer clothing, Botox, and credit-card bills — as well as having lied to Congress about his wealth and collecting unemployment benefits while having a job.
Had the case gone to trial in September as planned, prosecutors would have called about 40 witnesses, including campaign staff, former employers, and members of Santos’s extended family.
Santos made national news between his 2022 election victory and being sworn into office in January 2023 over discrepancies between the biography on which he campaigned and his real history. He falsely claimed to have worked for multiple prestigious financial firms, to have earned a college degree, that his mother was present at the World Trade Center on 9/11, and that he had relatives who died in the Holocaust. He was even alleged to have defrauded a GoFundMe drive for a cancer-stricken dog.
Despite first being indicted in May 2023, the former congressman rebuffed bipartisan calls to resign but was ultimately expelled from the United States House of Representatives in December 2023. He initially indicated his desire to seek re-election to his former seat in New York’s third congressional district before withdrawing from the race in April 2024.
Also on Monday, a federal court judge dismissed a lawsuit Santos filed against Jimmy Kimmel, ABC, and Disney in which he claimed that the three committed copyright infringement during a Jimmy Kimmel Live! segment by using videos he made on the Cameo app.