Former US Rep. George Santos pleads guilty to wire fraud and identity theft in his federal case

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. -- Former U.S. Rep. George Santos pleaded blameworthy Monday to committing ligament fraud and aggravated individuality theft successful transportation with the national fraud lawsuit that led to his expulsion from Congress.

The New York Republican entered the plea successful a courtroom successful Long Island conscionable weeks earlier his proceedings was acceptable to statesman successful aboriginal September.

Santos was indicted connected felony charges that helium stole from governmental donors, utilized run contributions to wage for idiosyncratic expenses, lied to Congress astir his wealthiness and collected unemployment benefits portion really working.

Video successful the media subordinate supra is from a erstwhile report

Santos was expelled from the U.S. House aft an morals probe recovered "overwhelming evidence" that helium had breached the instrumentality and exploited his nationalist presumption for his ain profit.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP's earlier communicative follows below.

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) - Former U.S. Rep. George Santos arrived Monday day astatine a New York courthouse, and a idiosyncratic acquainted with the substance has said the Republican is expected to plead blameworthy to aggregate counts successful his national fraud case.

The idiosyncratic could not publically sermon details of the plea and spoke to The Associated Press connected information of anonymity. Santos did not respond to questions from reporters arsenic helium walked into court.

The lawsuit has been acceptable to spell to proceedings aboriginal adjacent month. The Monday day tribunal day connected Long Island was scheduled lone connected Friday astatine the petition of some prosecutors and Santos' lawyers. A missive making the petition did not specify what it would beryllium about.

Santos has antecedently pleaded not blameworthy to a scope of alleged fiscal crimes, including lying to Congress astir his wealth, collecting unemployment benefits portion really moving and utilizing run contributions to wage for idiosyncratic expenses.

The 36-year-old was erstwhile touted arsenic a rising governmental prima aft helium flipped the suburban territory that covers the affluent North Shore of Long Island and a portion of the New York City borough of Queens successful 2022.

But his beingness communicative began unraveling earlier helium was adjacent sworn into office. At the time, reports emerged that helium had lied astir having a vocation astatine apical Wall Street firms and a assemblage grade on with different questions of his biography.

New questions past emerged astir his run funds.

He was archetypal indicted connected national charges successful May 2023, but refused to resign from office. Santos was expelled from Congress aft an morals probe recovered "overwhelming evidence" that helium had breached the instrumentality and exploited his nationalist presumption for his ain profit.

Santos has antecedently maintained his innocence, though helium said successful an interrogation successful December that a plea woody with prosecutors was "not disconnected the table."

Asked if helium was acrophobic of going to prison, helium told CBS 2 astatine the time: "I deliberation everybody should beryllium acrophobic of going to jail, it's not a beauteous spot and uh, I decidedly privation to enactment precise hard to debar that arsenic champion arsenic possible."

Separately Monday, successful Manhattan national court, Judge Denise Cote tossed retired a suit successful which Santos claimed that late-night big Jimmy Kimmel, ABC and Disney committed copyright infringement and unjustly enriched themselves astatine his disbursal by utilizing videos helium made connected the Cameo app for a "Jimmy Kimmel Live" segment. The justice said it was wide that Kimmel utilized the clips, which were besides posted to YouTube, for the purposes of disapproval and commentary, which is just use.

Santos had begun selling personalized videos connected Cameo successful December soon aft his ouster from Congress. He subsequently launched, past rapidly abandoned, a longshot bid to instrumentality to Congress arsenic an autarkic earlier this year.

In a vigor interrogation that aired Sunday, Santos said helium has taken comfortableness successful being a "somewhat backstage civilian" again.

"I truly don't miss the rubber chickenhearted dinners and the rah-rah-rah parties and fundraisers," helium said of his erstwhile life.

With his transgression proceedings looming, helium said successful the WABC interrogation that helium was "terrified."

"This is not perfectly an casual process to spell through. It truly hurts and it truly messes with your intelligence health," helium told big Cindy Adams.

As the proceedings day neared successful caller weeks, Santos had sought to person a partially anonymous jury, with his lawyers arguing successful tribunal papers that "the specified hazard of nationalist ridicule could power the idiosyncratic jurors quality to determine Santos' lawsuit solely connected the facts and instrumentality arsenic presented successful Court."

He besides wanted imaginable jurors to capable retired a written questionnaire gauging their opinions of him. His lawyers argued the survey was needed due to the fact that "for each intents and purposes, Santos has already been recovered blameworthy successful the tribunal of nationalist opinion."

Judge Joanna Seybert agreed to support jurors' identities nationalist but said nary to the questionnaire.

Prosecutors, meanwhile, had been seeking to admit arsenic grounds immoderate of the fiscal falsehoods Santos told during his campaign, including that he'd worked astatine Citigroup and Goldman Sachs and that helium had operated a family-run steadfast with astir $80 cardinal successful assets,

Two Santos run aides antecedently pleaded blameworthy to crimes related to the erstwhile congressman's campaign.

His ex-treasurer, Nancy Marks, pleaded blameworthy successful October to a fraud conspiracy charge, implicating Santos successful an alleged strategy to embellish his run concern reports with a fake indebtedness and fake donors. A lawyer for Marks said astatine the clip his lawsuit would beryllium consenting to attest against Santos if asked.

Sam Miele, a erstwhile fundraiser for Santos, pleaded blameworthy a period aboriginal to a national ligament fraud charge, admitting helium impersonated a high-ranking legislature adjutant portion raising wealth for Santos' campaign.

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Associated Press writers Susan Haigh and Larry Neumeister contributed to this report.