A superseding indictment accused Santos of identity theft, lying to the FEC.
October 27, 2023, 12:10 PM
Rep. George Santos pleaded not guilty on Friday to charges in a superseding indictment that accused him of stealing people’s identities, making unauthorized charges on his donors’ credit cards, and lying to federal election officials.
The trial, expected to last three weeks, is set for September 9, 2024.
According to a press release from the United States Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of New York, the new 23-count superseding indictment includes charges of wire fraud, making false statements to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), obstructing the FEC, identity theft, and access device fraud.
Despite a potential conflict of interest, Santos is retaining his lawyer, Joe Murray, who will defend him in the case.
Rep. George Santos is seen outside a House Republican Conference speaker election meeting in Longworth Building, October 24, 2023.
Tom Williams/AP
In addition to the recent charges against Santos, his former campaign finance chief, Nancy Marks, was indicted this month. Prosecutors allege that Marks involved 10 family members without their knowledge to make donations to the campaign, creating the illusion of sufficient support to qualify for party funds. Marks has pleaded guilty to a federal conspiracy charge.
According to the charges, Santos falsely claimed to have lent his campaign $500,000 when he only had $8,000 available.
No changes were made to Santos’ bail conditions during Friday’s hearing. The next status conference is scheduled for December 12.
Santos was previously indicted in May by federal prosecutors on charges including wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds, and making false statements to the House of Representatives. He pleaded not guilty to those charges.
Despite the new charges, Santos stated that he would not resign from his position in Congress.
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