Tipsheet

Report: Santos Expected to Plead Guilty in Fraud Case

Former Rep. George Santos of New York, who was expelled from Congress, is expected to plead guilty on Monday, according to a report. 

The plea would mean Santos would be spared from a trial on 23 felony counts in federal court in Long Island next month. 

Victims of former Rep. George Santos (R-NY) have been told that he is expected to plead guilty in federal court on Monday after being charged with multiple counts of fraud related to his campaign operation. 

Multiple Republican donors who were victims of the alleged scheme, in which Santos and his campaign made unauthorized charges on their credit cards, told TPM they were notified by federal prosecutors about the plea deal on Friday. The donors requested anonymity due to their status as victims of a crime.

The docket in the case shows that both sides on Friday asked the judge to schedule an in person hearing for Monday, which the judge then ordered. Other deadlines were extended for after the newly scheduled hearing.

“They told me that he is pleading guilty on Monday,” one of the donors said, adding, “He should be held completely accountable and he is, as far as I can tell, guilty of quite a bit. I know for certain that he lied to my face.”

TPM was first to report on the alleged donor credit card fraud that was at the center of a sprawling 23 count superseding indictment filed against Santos late last year. (Talking Points Memo)

Santos was expelled from the House last December, with more than 100 Republicans supporting his ouster after a damning ethics report was released detailing evidence he broke federal laws, stole from his campaign, deceived donors, and serially lied to constituents, staff, and donors.