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NY Rep. George Santos pleads not guilty on second set of fraud charges
By
Brigid Bergin
and
Brittany Kriegstein
Published Oct 27, 2023
Modified Oct 27, 2023
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Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images
By
Brigid Bergin
and
Brittany Kriegstein
Published Oct 27, 2023
Modified Oct 27, 2023
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Republican Rep. George Santos appeared in federal court in Central Islip, Long Island today where he was arraigned on 23 charges including identity theft, credit card fraud and conspiracy. He pleaded not guilty on all counts.
The charges are contained in a superseding indictment prosecutors filed on Oct. 10 and come on top of 13 counts Santos pleaded not guilty to in May, including charges of money laundering, wire fraud, theft of public funds, and making false statements to Congress.
Santos entered the courtroom for the brief proceeding wearing all black— black blazer, black pants, black sweater— and red loafers. He wore a lapel pin that appeared to be an American and Israeli flag side by side. His attorney, Joseph Murray, entered the not guilty plea.
His trial is set to begin in September, the judge overseeing the case said Friday, just months ahead of the upcoming 2024 elections.
Outside of the courthouse, roughly two dozen protestors were chanting “Scumbag!” and “Liar!” at Santos who blew a kiss to the crowd before climbing into a white Jeep SUV and driving off without addressing reporters.
Outside of the court house, demonstrators jeered at Santos as he walked out.
Photo by Brittany Kriegstein
Prosecutors allege that Santos, whose congressional district includes eastern Queens and parts of Nassau County, engaged in multiple schemes to defraud donors through his campaign and secure support from the party organization by making it appear as though his fundraising was more successful than it actually was.
Among the examples, prosecutors cite a $500,000 loan Santos reported giving to his campaign on Federal Election Commission filings. At the time, he was trying to hit a benchmark set by the national party organization, which would in turn provide his campaign with additional financial and logistical support, according to court records. But Santos never gave the fictitious loan, prosecutors say, because he only had $8,000 in his bank account.
Prosecutors also allege Santos and Nancy Marks, his former campaign treasurer, reported to the FEC that at least 10 of their family members donated to the campaign, in an effort to show that it had raised sufficient funds to meet the party program’s threshold. Prosecutors claim that those individuals had not donated, but the Santos campaign received additional funding based on the filings.
On Oct. 5, Marks pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge in federal court, in connection with the fundraising schemes.
Early Thursday, Santos posted a cryptic message on X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter, reading: “Everything has an end in life.”
He did not immediately respond to Gothamist's request for comment.
Santos is also accused of stealing credit card information from some of his actual donors and attempting $44,800 in fraudulent charges he masked as donations, in other individuals’ names, to his campaign account. Prosecutors allege Santos used one donor’s credit card to funnel $12,000 to his personal bank account.
Earlier this year, Santos was accused of convincing donors to give to a business entity that was supposed to be funding television ads in support of his campaign. But instead, prosecutors allege Santos shifted those funds to his personal account and spent them on designer clothing and other personal expenses.
Other charges stem from unemployment funds Santos applied for and received in 2020, during the pandemic, when Santos was employed at an investment firm. He’s also charged with filing fraudulent financial disclosure forms when he ran for congress.
Joe Murray, an attorney for Santos, declined to comment on Thursday, ahead of the second arraignment.
Prosecutors from the Eastern District submitted a proposed agenda for Friday’s hearing to Judge Joanna Seybert. They asked to set a trial date for May or June of next year — in the throes of the upcoming election — and to schedule another status conference around mid-December.
Seybert agreed to set Dec. 12th as the next date for a status conference. However, she set a start date for the trial of Sept. 9th due to the number of cases already before the court and the difficulty securing jurors during the summer months.
Prosecutors also proposed modifying the terms of Santos' bail agreement to allow him to have conditional contact with certain family members through defense counsel as long as he does not communicate about issues pertaining to his case.
The day before Santos faced the latest set of charges in court, a handful of New York Republicans in vulnerable districts said they would act to boot him from the U.S. House of Representatives.
Rep. Anthony D’Esposito introduced a privileged motion to expel Santos from the body two weeks ago. It was cosponsored by Reps. Michael Lawler, Nick LaLota, Marc Molinaro and Brandon Williams, and requires a two-thirds vote to pass.
But lawmakers needed to wait until the House elected a new speaker so that the chamber could resume normal business. On Wednesday, the House elected Rep. Michael Johnson of Louisiana in a vote along party lines.
The Santos expulsion resolution is expected to get a vote next week.
This story has been updated with information from Friday's appearance.
Tagged
campaign finance
new york city
George Santos
long island
department of justice
Congress
queens
Politics
republicans
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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Brittany Kriegstein
Brittany Kriegstein covers all breaking news around New York City, with a focus on crime and gun violence. Got a tip? Email Brittany at [email protected].
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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