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Former treasurer for Rep. George Santos pleads guilty in federal court
By
Brigid Bergin
Published Oct 5, 2023
Modified Oct 5, 2023
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by Fatih Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
By
Brigid Bergin
Published Oct 5, 2023
Modified Oct 5, 2023
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The former campaign treasurer for Rep. George Santos pled guilty in a federal court on Long Island on Thursday for her role in a scheme to falsify campaign finance records.
Nancy Marks, who reportedly worked for dozens of other Republican candidates over several years, resigned as treasurer of the Santos campaign in January. She departed her post at the same time the embattled Republican congressmember faced increased scrutiny of his campaign finances and the unraveling of his purported biography.
Marks appeared in an Eastern District courtroom around 3 p.m. where she admitted to working with Santos to falsify a $500,000 loan he allegedly made to his campaign so that it would appear more successful to prospective donors.
She also told the court that she filed a list of fake contributors with the Federal Elections Commission that included names of real people who had not actually donated to the campaign and did not grant the campaign permission to use their names.
Her plea deal comes with a sentencing recommendation of 3½ to 4 years in prison.
Santos did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In May, he was indicted on 13 charges for money laundering and corruption. He pleaded not guilty.
Marks is the second member of Santos’ campaign — in addition to Santos himself — to face criminal charges. In August, campaign staffer Samuel Miele was indicted in the same federal court. Documents filed by prosecutors indicated that his case was directly connected to the charges facing Santos.
Prosecutors are reportedly in negotiations with Santos and his legal team in his ongoing case.
The next court appearance in that case is scheduled for Oct. 27.
This story was updated to include additional details about the charges against Marks.
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new york state
new york city
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Politics
Brigid Bergin
Brigid Bergin is an award-winning senior reporter on the People and Power desk. She is fiercely committed to telling stories that help people engage and support democracy. In 2022, she hosted a live, ten-week call-in politics show ahead of the midterm elections called The People's Guide to Power. Brigid's reporting in 2017 included some of the first coverage of a political newcomer now known as AOC. In 2016, she broke the news of a voter purge in Brooklyn just days before New York’s presidential primary, triggering city, state and federal investigations. Brigid also guest hosts The Brian Lehrer Show and All Of It. She graduated from the University at Albany and the CUNY Newmark School of Journalism. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 917-723-4719.
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