Former US Congressman George Santos has pleaded guilty in his criminal case. Prosecutors accused him of 23 counts of fraud, money laundering, and other crimes. Serial liar and former US congressman George Santos pleaded guilty to criminal charges in court Monday, avoiding a criminal trial.
Federal prosecutors charged Santos with 23 counts of fraud, money laundering, identity theft, and conspiracy charges. They alleged he participated in a series of schemes that involved stealing credit card information from his political donors, lying to Congress, stealing unemployment and pandemic relief funds, falsifying campaign records, and other crimes. Santos ultimately pleaded guilty on Monday to two counts — one count of wire fraud and one count of identity theft — as part of a plea agreement, according to CBS News and The New York Times .
CBS News reported that US District Judge Joann Seybert set Santos' sentencing for February 7. The plea agreement requires Santos to pay restitution of at least $373,749, according to CBS News. Santos could face up to eight years in prison, Seybert said Monday.
Monday's court appearance was previously scheduled as a pretrial conference to resolve legal issues ahead of a September 9 trial date. But since Friday, it was widely expected to turn into a plea hearing after Talking Points memo reported that Santos's fraud victims were informed he would plead guilty. Court filings previously indicated Santos was in talks for a plea deal as early as Decem.