George Santos is expected to plead guilty to campaign fraud charges on Monday, according to multiple media reports. The former Queens and Long Island congressman made national headlines for fabricating much of his personal biography — and was expelled from the House of Representatives in December.
With mere weeks to go before his federal fraud case is scheduled to begin, Santos is expected to enter the guilty plea at a court hearing on Monday on Long Island, sources told the Associated Press and CNN, speaking on the condition of anonymity. The deal was first reported by Talking Points Memo.
Santos is facing 23 charges, including identity theft, credit card fraud and stealing campaign funds in the federal fraud case. Jury selection in the case is scheduled for Sept. 9.
Santos and his lawyers did not respond to Gothamist’s requests for comment on Saturday. He has said publicly that he is innocent.
Before he was sworn into office to represent the 3rd Congressional District, which includes parts of eastern Queens and northern Nassau County, Santos’ political career was marred with allegations of fraud.
In 2023, during his first year in office, federal prosecutors served Santos the combined 23-count indictment of identity theft, wire fraud and other crimes as part of a conspiracy to mislead donors.
That November, a scathing House subcommittee report found “substantial evidence” of a series of ethics violations and crimes. The Republican representative soon announced he would not seek reelection. When Congress officially expelled Santos in December, he became the first member in more than 20 years to be ousted from the House of Representatives.
Santos, seemingly unfazed, launched a campaign to run for another congressional seat on the far east end of Long Island in March – which he scrapped the following month.
At the time, he did not rule out the possibility of running again in the future.
A hearing was scheduled for Monday afternoon after prosecutors and lawyers representing Santos made the request on Friday, according to the Associated Press. The court also reportedly granted a delay in some pre-trial deadlines.