George Santos pleads guilty to wire fraud, identity theft

Former U.S. Rep. George Santos has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in his federal fraud case. The New York Republican entered the plea Monday in a courtroom in Long Island. His trial had been set to start in early September. Santos was indicted on charges that he stole from political donors, used campaign contributions to pay for personal expenses, lied to Congress about his wealth and collected unemployment benefits while working. He was expelled from Congress after an ethics investigation found what it called “overwhelming evidence” that Santos had broken the law. Santos faces more than six years in prison under federal guidelines at sentencing in February and owes at least $370,000 in restitution.