Former US representative pleads guilty to fraud charges

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - Former US Republican Congressman George Santos pleaded guilty Monday to committing wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in a federal fraud case.

"I deeply regret my conduct. I fully accept responsibility for my actions, and I understand my actions have betrayed the trust of my supporters," Santos said in a court in New York.

Speaking to reporters outside the courthouse, he said: "Pleading guilty is a step I never imagined I’d take, but it is a necessary one because it is the right thing to do.

"It’s not only a recognition of my misrepresentations to others, but more profoundly, it is my own recognition of the lies I told myself over these past years," he added.

Santos's sentencing hearing is set for February 2025.

The guilty plea comes just weeks before Santos was set to stand trial on nearly two dozen federal charges, including campaign fraud and corruption.

Last December, he was expelled from the House of Representatives in a historic vote that saw 105 of his fellow Republicans supporting his ouster.

Since his election to the House in 2022, multiple instances have emerged of Santos lying about his background, including the school he attended, his work history, and his mother supposedly being in the World Trade Center on the day of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.