U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert set a September 9, 2024 trial date for embattled Rep. George Santos (R-NY), who’s charged with wire fraud among 23 felony counts.
Santos pleaded not guilty to ten felony counts in federal court in Central Islip, New York on Long Island. He was hit with a superseding indictment on October 11 on charges of identity theft and credit card theft.
Among the initial charges against him, Santos is facing 13 counts of wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds, and making materially false statements to the House of Representatives.
Each wire fraud count carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison. If Santos is found guilty of multiple counts, it would be up to a judge to decide whether he should serve his sentences concurrently or consecutively.
The superseding indictment alleges that Santos stole the identities of donors to his campaigns, rang up tens of thousands of dollars in unauthorized charges, then wired some of the money to his own personal bank account while using the rest of the funds to inflate his campaign coffers.
Along with the identity theft and credit card theft charges, Santos is also accused of falsely reporting to the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) that he had loaned his campaign $500,000; in fact, he hadn’t given anything while maintaining less than $8,000 in the bank.
Prosecutors allege that the fake loan was an attempt by Santos to convince Republican Party officials that his campaign was worth their financial support.
Meanwhile, Santos is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee regarding whether he may have “engaged in unlawful activity with respect to his 2022 congressional campaign,” among a series of allegations.
On Thursday a group of fellow House Republicans from New York, led by Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, forced a vote on a resolution to expel Santos from Congress next week.
D’Esposito introduced a privileged measure focusing on Santos’ fabrications on the campaign trail in 2022 as well as the federal charges he’s facing.
In a social media post, Santos said he’s “not resigning” and is “entitled to due process and not a predetermined outcome as some are seeking.”
Santos filed for reelection in 2024 on March 14.
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