CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) 鈥� 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 鈥渇looded with deep regret.鈥�
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鈥� 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.
鈥淚 betrayed the trust of my constituents and supporters. I deeply regret my conduct,鈥� the former New York representative said, his voice trembling as he entered the plea.
Santos was elected in 2022 after bandying stories 鈥� later proven false 鈥� 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 鈥淛ew-ish,鈥� 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鈥檚 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 about how he funded his campaign.
Outside court, Santos told reporters Monday his political ambitions led him 鈥渢o make decisions that were unethical.鈥�
鈥淧leading guilty is a step I never imagined I鈥檇 take, but it is a necessary one because it is the right thing to do,鈥� Santos said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 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.鈥�
U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said Santos, in pleading guilty, told the truth 鈥渁fter years of telling lies.鈥�
鈥淎nd that truth is he is a criminal,鈥� 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 鈥渁 litany of other crimes for which the court will hold him accountable at sentencing,鈥� Peace said.
Among them: stealing multiple people鈥檚 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 鈥渂adly deceived鈥� his constituents, who 鈥渃ame to learn that they were victims of a fraud of unprecedented proportions.鈥�
鈥淭hey had to watch helplessly while Santos rode into Congress on a campaign of lies,鈥� Peace said.
Santos was last December after the ethics committee investigation found 鈥渙verwhelming evidence鈥� he had broken the law and exploited his public position for personal profit. He鈥檇 refused to resign, maintaining his innocence in the face of his May 2023 indictment and additional charges months later.
The case in early September. Prosecutors said they were prepared to call some 40 witnesses, including members of Santos鈥� family, campaign and former employers, and wanted to show jurors evidence of Santos鈥� myriad falsehoods, including claims he鈥檇 worked at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs.
After his ouster from Congress, Santos said that he鈥檇 be open to a plea deal. Asked if he was afraid of going to prison, he told WCBS-TV at the time: 鈥淚 think everybody should be afraid of going to jail, it鈥檚 not a pretty place and uh, I definitely want to work very hard to avoid that as best as possible.鈥�
Separately Monday, Manhattan Federal Judge Denise Cote tossed out that , ABC and Disney committed copyright infringement and unjustly enriched themselves by using videos he made for a segment on Kimmel鈥檚 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, , a longshot independent bid to return to Congress.
In , Santos said he has taken comfort in a 鈥渟omewhat private civilian鈥� again, with little wistfulness for the 鈥渞ubber chicken dinners and the rah-rah-rah parties and fundraisers鈥� of his former life.
Santos said he was 鈥渢errified鈥� of his then-looming trial, telling host Cindy Adams: 鈥淭his is not absolutely an easy process to go through. It really hurts and it really messes with your psychological health.鈥�
In the days leading to his guilty plea, the ever-online Santos appeared to signal his decision 鈥� even as he chided followers for speculating and mixed in a disappointed review of the latest installment in the 鈥淎lien鈥� movie series.
After losing a bid to have prospective jurors fill out written questionnaires, Santos cryptically last week: 鈥淚鈥檓 done,鈥� 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.
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.
copped to wire fraud, admitting he impersonated a congressional aide while raising money for Santos鈥� campaign.
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Sisak reported from Philadelphia. Associated Press writers Susan Haigh and Larry Neumeister contributed to this report.
Philip Marcelo And Michael R. Sisak, The Associated Press
