Former US representative George Santos pleads guilty to federal fraud charges

Former Republican congressman George Santos arrives at court in New York. EPA

Former US representative George Santos pleaded guilty on Monday to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, in a federal case that led to his expulsion from Congress weeks before it was set to go to trial.

“I betrayed the trust of my constituents and supporters. I deeply regret my conduct,” the New York Republican said as he entered the plea in a Long Island courtroom.

Santos said he accepted responsibility and intends to make amends. He faces more than six years in prison under federal sentencing guidelines and owes at least $370,000 in restitution.

The former politician had initially pleaded not guilty but began plea talks with prosecutors last December.

He was indicted on felony charges that he stole from political donors, used campaign contributions to pay for personal expenses, lied to Congress about his wealth and collected unemployment benefits while working.

Prosecutors claimed he used campaign contributions to pay off debt and buy designer clothes during his second congressional campaign.

Two Santos campaign aides previously pleaded guilty to crimes related to the former congressman’s campaign.

Santos was expelled from the US House of Representatives after an ethics investigation found “overwhelming evidence” that he had broken the law and exploited his public position for his own profit.

Once touted as a rising political star in the Republican Party, he flipped the suburban district that covers the affluent North Shore of Long Island and a slice of the New York City borough of Queens in 2022.

But his life story began to unravel before he was even sworn into office, when it was revealed that much of his campaign was based on falsehoods.

Santos claimed to have worked at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, though there is no evidence he was employed by either company.

Claims that he holds degrees from New York University and Baruch College were also refuted.

The former politician also lied about having Jewish heritage, and about his mother dying in the World Trade Centre terrorist attacks.

Santos spent much of his 11 months in Congress engulfed in scandal and marginalised by his fellow politicians after the revelations.

With his criminal trial looming, he told WABC that he was “terrified”.

“This is not absolutely an easy process to go through. It really hurts and it really messes with your psychological health,” Santos told host Cindy Adams.

His is the latest in a string of recent legal scandals in the US Congress.

Robert Menendez, a Democratic senator, was found guilty last month of receiving bribes, including gold and cash, to use his influence to help three businessmen and a foreign government.

In May, federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment against Henry Cuellar, a Democrat from Texas, and his wife on claims the couple accepted $600,000 in bribes from an Azerbaijan-run oil company and a bank with headquarters in Mexico.

And Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has faced a series of legal challenges, one of which led to his conviction in a New York courtroom on 34 counts of falsifying business records in a hush-money scheme during his 2016 campaign.