Former U.S. Rep. George Santos is in negotiations to resolve his federal felony fraud case, prosecutors stated in a courtroom submitting Monday.
“The parties are presently engaged in plea negotiations with the goal of resolving this matter without the need for a trial,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace’s workplace wrote within the submitting.
Santos is scheduled to look in courtroom on Long Island for a listening to within the case Tuesday. He acknowledged in an interview that aired Sunday that he hadn’t dominated out pleading responsible.
“The trial is not until September and a plea is not off the table. So there’s obviously conversations taking place, especially after what happened in Congress, and we’ll see,” he stated within the interview with CBS 2, referring to his expulsion from Congress earlier this month.
Asked if he’s afraid of going to jail, Santos responded: “I think everybody should be afraid of going to jail, it’s not a pretty place and uh, I definitely want to work very hard to avoid that as best as possible.”
Prosecutors stated in Monday’s submitting they’re additionally looking for an earlier trial date in case the negotiations fail to supply a deal. The request is opposed by Santos’ lawyer, who didn’t reply to an electronic mail looking for remark Monday.
Santos faces a number of fees that he defrauded donors to his marketing campaign, lied to Congress about his wealth, obtained unemployment advantages whereas employed and used marketing campaign contributions to pay for private bills like designer clothes. He pleaded not responsible in October to further fees that he made tens of hundreds of {dollars} in unauthorized fees on bank cards belonging to a few of his marketing campaign donors.
Santos hasn’t wasted any time seeking to money in on his infamy since turning into simply the sixth lawmaker in historical past to be solid out by colleagues within the U.S. House of Representatives, a transfer that left Republicans with a razor-thin majority within the chamber.
The 35-year-old Queens native launched an account on the web site Cameo, the place the general public pays him for a customized video message. In the televised interview, Santos stated he made more cash in every week on the platform than his annual wage as a congressman.
Santos was touted as a rising star after he flipped the suburban district that covers the prosperous North Shore of Long Island and a slice of the New York City borough of Queens final 12 months.
But his life story unraveled earlier than he was even sworn into workplace: Reports revealed he had lied about having Jewish ancestry, a profession at high Wall Street corporations and a school diploma, amongst different issues.
A particular election will likely be held Feb. 13 to elect his House successor. That race will seemingly pit former U.S. Rep. Thomas Suozzi, a Democrat who beforehand held the seat earlier than operating unsuccessfully for governor, in opposition to one in all numerous Republicans.
