AP source: Ex-Rep. George Santos expected to plead guilty to multiple counts in fraud case

NEW YORK (AP) — Former U.S. Rep. George Santos is expected to plead guilty to multiple counts in his federal fraud case, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Santos, a Republican from New York, is expected to enter the plea at a court hearing planned for Monday on Long Island, the person said.

The person could not publicly discuss details of the plea and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Messages were left seeking comment from Santos and three lawyers representing the former congressman.

The court hearing was scheduled for Monday afternoon after prosecutors and Santos’ lawyers jointly requested one on Friday. They also sought and received a delay in certain pre-trial deadlines.

The news comes just weeks before jury selection was set to begin on Sept. 9. Santos has previously pleaded not guilty to a range of financial crimes, including lying to Congress about his wealth, collecting unemployment benefits while actually working and using campaign contributions to pay for personal expenses such as designer clothing.

Among the charges Santos faces are wire fraud, theft of public funds, money laundering and aggravated identify theft.

Prosecutors recently told the judge that the trial could last three weeks because they expected to call at least three dozen witnesses, including some victims of Santos’ alleged crimes.

‘A witch hunt’

Santos has previously maintained his innocence and called the investigation a “witch hunt,” claims that prosecutors called “baseless” in a recent court filing. But in December, when prosecutors said plea negotiations were ongoing, Santos said in an interview at that time that a deal was “not off the table.”

Asked if he was afraid of going to prison, he said: “I think everybody should be afraid of going to jail, it’s not a pretty place and uh, I definitely want to work very hard to avoid that as best as possible.”

Earlier this week, Judge Joanna Seybert rejected Santos’ request that potential jurors fill out a written questionnaire gauging their opinions of him. His lawyers argued in court filings it was necessary because “for all intents and purposes, Santos has already been found guilty in the court of public opinion.”

Lawyers for the government had also been seeking to admit as evidence some of the lies Santos made during his campaign. Before he was elected in 2022 to represent parts of Queens and Long Island, he falsely claimed to have graduated from both New York University and Baruch College and that he had worked at top Wall Street firms.

Two aides to Santos

Two campaign aides to Santos have already pleaded guilty to crimes related to the former congressman’s campaign. Last October, his ex-treasurer, Nancy Marks, pleaded guilty to a fraud conspiracy charge and implicated Santos in a scheme to embellish his campaign finance reports with a fake loan and fake donors. A lawyer for Marks said at the time his client would be willing to testify against Santos if asked, saying she had been “mentally seduced” by Santos.

A month later, Sam Miele, a former fundraiser for Santos, pleaded guilty to a federal wire fraud charge, admitting he impersonated a high-ranking congressional aide while raising campaign cash for Santos.

The New York Republican was expelled from Congress in December after an ethics investigation found “overwhelming evidence” he had broken the law and exploited his public position for his own profit.