Former Republican congressman George Santos, the son of Brazilians, pleaded guilty on Monday (19) to charges he was facing before a court in the US state of New York, to avoid a trial that could lead to a 20-year prison sentence.
Santos was facing 23 charges in court, including fraud, money laundering, misappropriation of public funds, false testimony, conspiracy against the country, making false statements to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to obtain campaign funds and falsifying documents sent to this body.
He pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated identity theft and wire fraud stemming from fraudulent activities during his 2022 campaign.
According to CNN, Santos will still have to serve at least two years in prison as part of the agreement reached with the courts and pay reparations of US$373,000. The sentencing hearing has been scheduled for February 2025.
“I deeply regret my conduct. I take full responsibility for my actions,” Santos said in court on Monday.
In December of last year, the Republican was impeached by the United States House.
He had survived another vote in the plenary in early November, but the mood in the house became untenable for him when days later the Ethics Committee released a report that indicated that the former deputy had used money from campaign donations to go to casinos, shop at designer stores, get Botox and subscribe to the website OnlyFans, among other personal expenses.
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