George Santos pleads not guilty to 13-count indictment for financial crimes
Rachel Schilke
Rep. George Santos (R-NY) pleaded not guilty to financial crime charges in federal court on Wednesday.
Santos was indicted on 13 counts: seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds, and two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives, the Department of Justice announced Tuesday.
MCCARTHY WON’T CALL FOR SANTOS RESIGNATION UNLESS CONVICTED: ‘INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY’
The embattled representative appeared in court in Central Islip, New York, on Wednesday afternoon for a hearing after surrendering to authorities earlier in the day. Santos could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
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“Taken together, the allegations in the indictment charge Santos with relying on repeated dishonesty and deception to ascend to the halls of Congress and enrich himself. He used political contributions to line his pockets, unlawfully applied for unemployment benefits that should have gone to New Yorkers who had lost their jobs due to the pandemic, and lied to the House of Representatives,” Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace said in a statement.
This story is breaking and will be updated.