George Santos expected to plead guilty in federal fraud case in New York

NEW YORK — George Santos is expected to plead guilty to charges stemming from allegations of fraud, a person familiar with the matter confirmed to CBS News New York. 

Santos, the former New York Republican congressman, is expected to enter a plea in federal court Monday in Central Islip, New York. 

He was expelled from the House of Representatives last year and previously pleaded not guilty to 23 federal charges alleging fraud, including misusing campaign funds. 

Sides were preparing for trial next month

Santos appeared in a Long Island courtroom on Tuesday for a pre-trial hearing. His trial was scheduled to start in September.

Federal prosecutors asked the judge to let them submit lies Santos told on the campaign as evidence, arguing he “deliberately leveraged them to perpetuate the criminal schemes.”

The lies included:

• Graduating from Baruch College and New York University
• Being an accomplished college volleyball player
• Having grandparents who survived the Holocaust
• Working at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs
• Fabricating his family wealth
• Stealing from campaign contributors

Santos’ defense team asked the court for a partially anonymous jury, citing “extensive and largely negative media coverage,” and claiming “jurors could face harassment or intimidation.” The judge had agreed.

If convicted in a trial, Santos faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Former constituents mixed on possible plea deal

The disgraced former congressman covered New York’s 3rd Congressional District. His win back in 2022 helped the Republican Party take control of the House. Almost immediately, Santos started making headlines for a litany of scandals.

“He has been saying that he wants his day in court since he was indicted. Well, give him his day in court,” said Jody Kass Finkel, who led the citizen group to oust Santos from office. “He essentially was torturing us for months. For 11 months, we had to live with him as our representative. As far as we’re concerned, the urgency is gone and he shouldn’t get a plea deal.”

Other residents in Santos’ former district had mixed opinions.

“I don’t feel angry anymore. He should just disappear … He should pay back the money,” Little Neck resident Barbara Garrett said.

“I don’t think he should go to jail, no … He was a U.S. Representative. He might have made some mistakes and bad errors, and I don’t put him in the same class as violent offenders that serve even less than that,” one man said.

“If he broke the law, then just whatever anyone else would face, he should face that same punishment,” another man said.