George Santos pleads guilty, acknowledging lies and blaming ambition for conning his way to Congress

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) — George Santos, who spun lies about his life into an 11-month stint in Congress, pleaded guilty Monday to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in a case that led to his expulsion from office. He blamed his ambition for clouding his judgment and said he was “flooded with deep regret.”

Santos, 36, is likely to spend at least six years in prison and owes more than $570,000 in restitution and forfeiture after tearfully admitting that he duped voters, deceived donors and stole the identities of 11 people, including his own family members, to make donations to his campaign.

Santos’ guilty plea in federal court on Long Island came weeks before the case was to go to trial, punctuating one of the more bizarre stories in modern political lore. He remains free on bond awaiting sentencing Feb. 7.

“I betrayed the trust of my constituents and supporters. I deeply regret my conduct,” the former New York representative said, his voice trembling as he entered the plea.

Santos was elected in 2022 after bandying stories — later proven false — about his wealth and background, including a lie that his mother perished in the 9/11 attacks. As his biography unraveled, Santos went to great lengths to defend himself, once saying he was “Jew-ish,” not Jewish, when confronted about his campaign claim that his grandparents had fled the Holocaust.

Once regarded as a rising Republican star after flipping a district covering parts of Queens and Long Island’s Gold Coast, Santos faced scrutiny even before taking office. Reports he lied about having a career at top Wall Street firms and a college degree were followed by questions about how he funded his campaign.

Outside court, Santos told reporters Monday his political ambitions led him “to make decisions that were unethical.”

“Pleading guilty is a step I never imagined I’d take, but it is a necessary one because it is the right thing to do,” Santos said. “It’s not only a recognition of my misrepresentation to others, but more profoundly, it is my own recognition of the lies I told myself over these past years.”

U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said Santos, in pleading guilty, told the truth “after years of telling lies.”

“And that truth is he is a criminal,” Peace said.

Santos was indicted last year on felony charges 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.

Additionally, Santos also admitted to “a litany of other crimes for which the court will hold him accountable at sentencing,” Peace said.

Among them: stealing multiple people’s credit card numbers and charging them for his campaign, tricking donors into giving money to a bogus nonprofit and using the cash to buy designer clothing and fabricating his personal wealth in a financial disclosure report to Congress.

A House Ethics Committee investigation last year found money Santos diverted to his personal bank accounts was used to pay credit card bills and make purchases at luxury retailer Hermes, beauty retailer Sephora and the adult content website OnlyFans.

Peace said Santos “badly deceived” his constituents, who “came to learn that they were victims of a fraud of unprecedented proportions.”

“They had to watch helplessly while Santos rode into Congress on a campaign of lies,” Peace said.

Santos was expelled from the U.S. House last December after the ethics committee investigation found “overwhelming evidence” he had broken the law and exploited his public position for personal profit. He’d refused to resign, maintaining his innocence in the face of his May 2023 indictment and additional charges months later.

The case had been scheduled for trial in early September. Prosecutors said they were prepared to call some 40 witnesses, including members of Santos’ family, campaign and former employers, and wanted to show jurors evidence of Santos’ myriad falsehoods, including claims he’d worked at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs.

After his ouster from Congress, Santos said in an interview that he’d be open to a plea deal. Asked if he was afraid of going to prison, he told WCBS-TV at the time: “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.”

Separately Monday, Manhattan Federal Judge Denise Cote tossed out Santos’ lawsuit alleging that Jimmy Kimmel, ABC and Disney committed copyright infringement and unjustly enriched themselves by using videos he made on the Cameo app for a segment on Kimmel’s late-night talk show. Cote said it was clear Kimmel used the clips for criticism and commentary, which is fair use.

Santos began selling personalized videos on Cameo after leaving Congress. He subsequently launched, then quickly abandoned, a longshot independent bid to return to Congress.

In an interview that aired Sunday on WABC Radio, Santos said he has taken comfort in a “somewhat private civilian” again, with little wistfulness for the “rubber chicken dinners and the rah-rah-rah parties and fundraisers” of his former life.

Santos said he was “terrified” of his then-looming trial, telling host Cindy Adams: “This is not absolutely an easy process to go through. It really hurts and it really messes with your psychological health.”

In the days leading to his guilty plea, the ever-online Santos appeared to signal his decision – even as he chided followers for speculating and mixed in a disappointed review of the latest installment in the “Alien” movie series.

After losing a bid to have prospective jurors fill out written questionnaires, Santos cryptically wrote on X last week: “I’m done,” adding an emoji of a hand holding up a peace sign.

Two Santos campaign aides pleaded guilty last year to crimes related to his campaign, complicating his defense.

Ex-treasurer Nancy Marks pleaded guilty to fraud conspiracy, implicating Santos in a scheme to embellish his campaign finance reports with a fake loan and fake donors. Her lawyer said she was willing to testify against him.

Ex-fundraiser Sam Miele copped to wire fraud, admitting he impersonated a congressional aide while raising money for Santos’ campaign.

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Sisak reported from Philadelphia. Associated Press writers Susan Haigh and Larry Neumeister contributed to this report.