Former GOP congressman George Santos pleads guilty to fraud, faces prison sentence

Former U.S. congressman George Santos has pleaded guilty to a litany of fraud charges in New York, bringing to a close at least part of a legal saga that has dogged the 36-year-old Republican since before his short stint in Washington.

Santos entered his plea on Aug. 19 at the Alfonse M. D'Amato U.S. Courthouse in Central Islip, admitting that he conspired to deceive supporters of his 2022 campaign for New York’s 3rd district seat in the House of Representatives. His actions included credit card fraud, embezzlement, false financial disclosures to Congress, and unemployment insurance fraud dating back to before his campaign.

“For what may seem like the first time since he started his campaign for Congress, Mr. Santos told the truth about his criminal schemes. He admitted to lying, stealing and conning people,” said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace. 

“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. His flagrant and disgraceful conduct has been exposed and will be punished.”

Santtos, once a rising hard-right star in the GOP, has faced scrutiny since the beginning of his political aspirations, having emerged from shadowy origins that are still not entirely clear—including a troubled stint in Brazil in his early adulthood and employment in Florida with a company accused of running a Ponzi scheme. 

During his first congressional campaign for the 3rd district seat in New York, undertaken in 2020, Santos was known to have exaggerated his fundraising totals while on his way to a surprising finish against incumbent Tom Suozzi, who won but without the expected landslide.

Santos ran for the same seat during the 2022 midterm elections, during which the North Shore Leader exposed his false statements about his employment, income, and background. Other outlets questioned the Catholic lawmaker’s claims that he is of Afro-Brazilian and Jewish origin, which quickly became media fodder. Nevertheless, Santos triumphed over his Democratic opponent with nearly 54% of the vote.

His 12-month stint in Washington featured bipartisan censure, with six of his fellow New York GOP representatives calling for his resignation. This, even as the party celebrated a landmark red-wave showing in the Democratic stronghold state, wherein Santos was the most recognizable name. 

Under duress, Santos resigned from his House committee assignments less than a month into his tenure. He was first charged by federal authorities in May 2023, followed by a superseding indictment bringing the total to 23 charges in October—the same month his former campaign treasurer pleaded guilty to fraud in federal court.

Republican leaders in New York refused to support Santos’ abortive 2024 reelection campaign, and as allegations against him grew more concrete, the House voted thrice to expel him, succeeding in December 2023. More than a hundred Republicans supported the measure, which was the first successful expulsion of a GOP representative and the first devoid of a federal conviction or sedition.

"As I have said from the very beginning, George Santos needed to be held accountable for his lies, deceptions, and criminal activity," said GOP Rep. Mike Lawler of New York this month after Santos’ guilty plea. "I was proud to help lead the effort to expel him from Congress and am glad to see this long running embarrassment finally come to an end."

“Santos’s guilty plea further reinforces the fact that my successful bipartisan campaign to expel him from Congress as punishment for his misdeeds was the correct course of action,” added Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, also a New York Republican.

Outside the courthouse after his plea, Santos expressed remorse of a kind not seen from the former congressmen at any point during his time in office. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Friday, Feb. 7, 2025, and faces a sentence ranging from two to 22 years in prison. 

"To my family, friends, and the people of New York's 3rd congressional district, I offer my deepest apology,” Santos told reporters, holding back tears.

"It has been the proudest achievement of my life to represent you, and I believe I did so to the best of my abilities. But you also trusted me to represent you with honor and to uphold the values that are essential to our democracy, and in that regard, I failed you."

Nate Tinner-Williams is co-founder and editor of Black Catholic Messenger.

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