George Santos pleads guilty to wire fraud, identity theft
Former U.S. Rep. George Santos of Long Island, N.Y., who was the first out gay non-incumbent Republican to win election to Congress in 2022 and whose congressional colleagues voted to expel him last year, pleaded guilty on Aug.
19 to felony charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft as part of a plea deal with federal prosecutors. His guilty plea came a little over a year after a federal grand jury indicted him in May 2023 on 13 counts of defrauding campaign donors and falsely claiming unemployment benefits.
Last October prosecutors obtained another indictment that included the charge of aggravated identity theft on grounds that he falsified campaign donation information with the Federal Election Commission.
He initially pleaded not guilty to the charges. CBS News reports that a judge at the U.S. District Court in Central Islip, N.Y., which is on Long Island, set a sentencing date for Feb.
