Rep. George Santos Pleads Not Guilty to All 13 Criminal Counts in Federal Court
The embattled Republican was hit with more than a dozen criminal charges on Wednesday and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison if convicted on the top counts, according to the Justice Department
New York Rep. George Santos pleaded not guilty to 13 criminal counts in federal court on Wednesday after investigators unsealed an indictment hours earlier, which charged him with seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds and two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives.
If convicted, the freshman Republican congressman faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the top counts, according to the Justice Department.
Santos surrendered to federal authorities at a suburban Long Island courthouse Wednesday morning ahead of a scheduled 1 p.m. ET arraignment before a U.S. magistrate judge in Central Islip, New York. He will be released on $500,000 bond, the Associated Press reports.
In an unsealed indictment, federal prosecutors say he allegedly "devised and executed a scheme" aimed at defrauding donors to his 2022 political campaign.
That scheme, prosecutors allege, included applying for and receiving unemployment benefits at the height of the pandemic — while he was employed and running a Congressional campaign. The fraud continued, the indictment adds, when Santos allegedly began pocketing campaign contributions to buy designer clothing and pay off his personal debts.
Breon Peace, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a statement: "This indictment seeks to hold Santos accountable for various alleged fraudulent schemes and brazen misrepresentations."
Santos, Peace alleged, "used political contributions to line his pockets, unlawfully applied for unemployment benefits that should have gone to New Yorkers who had lost their jobs due to the pandemic, and lied to the House of Representatives."
The charges come months after a bombshell New York Times report raised questions about the Republican lawmaker's background.
Santos was elected in November to represent a New York district made up of parts of Long Island and Queens.
Related:George Santos Says He's a 'Terrible Liar,' but 'Got Away with It' During 2020 Campaign
He became the subject of controversy soon after, when the Times reported that he had misled voters about everything from his level of education and previous jobs to family ties to the Holocaust.
But many questions persisted, including some centering on the source of his income, which has seemingly grown by hundreds of thousands of dollars in recent years.
In 2020, when he launched his first run for the House, Santos stated in a financial disclosure that he had no assets and no earned income. But his financial situation appeared to have markedly improved by the time he decided to launch a second run for the House in 2022, with Federal Election Commission filings showing he lent at least $700,000 to his campaign, and $27,000 to his political action committee.
Related:George Santos Is Facing Criminal Charges in Federal Investigation, Expected in Court on Wednesday
Santos has said the funds given to his campaign came from his company, the Devolder Organization, which The Washington Post has reported was organized just one month before the Republican declared his latest candidacy in 2021.
Santos himself has acknowledged that he has "embellished" significant portions of his resume, telling the New York Post that he lied about working at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, as he had previously asserted, and about attending Baruch College and New York University (he did not attend college).
But he has been less candid about the source of his campaign funding, telling reporters in January that he had no role in amending financial disclosures provided to the Federal Election Commission earlier this year.
"Let's make it very clear. I don't amend anything. I don't touch any of my FEC stuff, so don't be disingenuous and report that I did," Santos said, the Associated Press reports. "Every campaign hires fiduciaries, so I'm not aware of that answer, but we will have an answer for the press regarding the amendments from yesterday."
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In January, Santos told colleagues he would temporarily resign from his assignments on the Small Business and Science Committees while various investigations into his past play out.
Despite the ongoing investigations, the freshman lawmaker filed paperwork for his 2024 reelection campaign in March to keep his District 3 seat, according to the Federal Election Commission website.
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