George Santos, a former Republican representative expelled from the US Congress for lying on his resume and financing a luxurious lifestyle with money stolen from donors, pleaded guilty Monday to fraud and identity theft, federal justice announced.
The former New York elected official faces between 2 and 22 years in prison and his sentencing is scheduled for February 7.
“Former Congressman George Santos stood in court right behind me and finally told the truth under oath, and that truth is that he is a criminal. Santos pleaded guilty to serious crimes including fraud and identity theft,” Eastern New York U.S. Attorney Breon Peace thundered to reporters.
A Justice Department statement said Santos, 36, faces “a minimum of two years in prison and a maximum of 22 years” and will have to pay a total of some $578,000 in fines.
Mr. Santos, dubbed by the press the serial liar, was expelled from Congress on December 1, a very rare occurrence.
He had been elected a year earlier as a representative of a New York constituency comprising part of the borough of Queens and part of Nassau County on Long Island.
George Santos had initially maintained his innocence in the face of 23 charges brought by the Brooklyn federal prosecutor’s office.
The son of Brazilian immigrants, he presented himself as the “new face of the Republican Party” during the November 2022 legislative elections and shaped his image based on lies about his education, religion, professional experience, assets and salary.
He went so far as to falsify his family history, claiming to be descended from Jewish Holocaust survivors who fled Nazi atrocities during World War II. He also falsely claimed to have a degree from New York University and to have worked for US banks Goldman Sachs and Citigroup.
An investigation by the New York Times exposed his lies while he was already serving in Congress.
