2024-08-18 03:52:01
Authorities expect former U.S. Congressman George Santos to plead guilty to multiple charges in his federal fraud trial, a person familiar with the matter said.
Santos, a former Republican congressman from New York, is expected to plead guilty at a hearing on Long Island on Monday, the person said.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they could not speak publicly about the details of Santos’ statement.
Messages were left with Santos and three attorneys representing him, asking for comment.
The hearing is scheduled for Monday afternoon after a joint request by prosecutors and Santos’ attorneys on Friday. They also requested and received an extension to some pretrial deadlines.
The news comes weeks before jury selection is scheduled to begin on September 9. Santos has pleaded not guilty to a range of financial crimes, including lying to Congress about his assets, collecting unemployment benefits while actually working and using campaign contributions to pay for personal expenses such as designer clothing.
Santos faces charges including cyber fraud, embezzlement, money laundering and aggravated identity theft.
Prosecutors recently told a judge that the trial could last three weeks as they expect to call at least three dozen witnesses, including some of Santos’ alleged victims of crimes.
Santos has previously maintained his innocence and called the investigation a “witch hunt,” which prosecutors called “baseless” in a recent court filing. But in December, when prosecutors said they were negotiating a plea deal, Santos said in an interview that he had not ruled out that option.
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Associated Press writer Michael R. Sisak contributed to this report.
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