Former New York Rep. George Santos pleads guilty to wire fraud, identity theft

• Former New York Rep. George Santos pleaded guilty in federal court in Long Island to committing wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
• Santos, a Republican, had been set to begin trial next month on a 23-count superseding indictment accused him of wire fraud, identity theft, and making false statements to the Federal Election Commission.
• Santos was expelled from the House of Representatives last December by a vote of 311 to 114.

Former New York Rep. George Santos pleaded guilty Monday in federal court in Long Island to committing wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

Santos, a Republican, had been set to begin trial next month on a 23-count superseding indictment accused him of wire fraud, identity theft, and making false statements to the Federal Election Commission.

The 36-year-old disgraced ex-congressman, whose audacious lies about his personal and professional background were exposed a month before he first took office in January 2023, is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 7.

He faces a minimum possible sentence of two years in prison and a maximum of 22 years behind bars for his crimes, which involved filing fraudulent FEC reports, embezzling funds from campaign donors, charging credit cards without authorization, stealing identities and obtaining unemployment benefits he was not entitled to, prosecutors said.

As part of his guilty plea, Santos must pay nearly $373,750 in restitution and forfeit more than $205,000.

 "I deeply regret my conduct, I fully accept responsibility for my actions, and I understand my actions have betrayed the trust of my supporters," Santos said during his plea hearing.

"I made misrepresentations so that the NRCC [National Republican Congressional Committee] would spend money on my