The expelled former US lawmaker George Santos pled guilty in court on Monday and now faces prison time. Charges against him include one count of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.
The latter carries a mandatory two-year prison sentence. The plea caps off Santos’s downfall, a novice politician who was ousted from Congress after a short time in office marked by scandal.
The 36-year-old voice shook as he read from a statement after leaving court: “It has been the proudest achievement of my life to represent you. And I believe I did so to the best of my ability. But you also trusted me to represent you with honor and to uphold the values that are essential to our democracy. And in that regard, I failed you.
Santos was hit with federal charges in May last year including laundering campaign funds to pay for his personal expenses and charging donors’ credit cards without their consent.
A bipartisan investigation by the House Ethics Committee found he spent campaign money on Botox, luxury brands such as Hermes, and OnlyFans, an online platform known for sexual content.
The federal indictment led lawmakers to expel Santos from the US House last December. He admitted to all wrongdoing described in the indictment as part of a plea deal even though he only pleaded guilty to two of the 23 counts.
US Attorney Breon Peace said Monday the voters who elected Santos were “badly deceived”. “They came to learn that they were victims of a fraud of unprecedented proportion, and they had to watch helplessly while Santos rode into Congress on a campaign of lies.”
Santos spent the bulk of his 11 months in office engulfed in scandal, sidelined by other lawmakers and the butt of jokes by late-night TV comedians.
During his campaign, Santos made several claims that were not true: That he attended New York University, that he had worked at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, and that his grandparents had fled the Nazis during World War Two. Santos’ seat was filled in a special election in February by Democrat Tom Suozzi.
Source: BBC
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