\n
![](\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/img-assets\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/AP24230626118405-e1723931331985.jpg?w=2048\")
<\/p>\n [ad_1]
\n<\/p>\n
Former U.S. Rep.\u00a0George Santos<\/a>\u00a0is expected to plead guilty to multiple counts in\u00a0his federal fraud case<\/a>, according to a person familiar with the matter.<\/p>\n Santos, a Republican from New York, is expected to enter the plea at a court hearing planned for Monday on Long Island, the person said.<\/p>\n The person could not publicly discuss details of the plea and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n Messages were left seeking comment from Santos and three lawyers representing the former congressman.<\/p>\n The court hearing was scheduled for Monday afternoon after prosecutors and Santos\u2019 lawyers jointly requested one on Friday. They also sought and received a delay in certain pre-trial deadlines.<\/p>\n The news comes just weeks before jury selection was set to begin on Sept. 9. Santos has previously pleaded not guilty to a range of financial crimes, including lying to Congress about his wealth, collecting unemployment benefits while actually working and using campaign contributions to pay for personal expenses such as designer clothing.<\/p>\n Among the charges Santos faces are wire fraud, theft of public funds, money laundering and aggravated identify theft.<\/p>\n Prosecutors recently told the judge that the trial could last three weeks because they expected to call at least three dozen witnesses, including some victims of Santos\u2019 alleged crimes.<\/p>\n Santos has previously maintained his innocence and called the investigation a \u201cwitch hunt,\u201d claims that prosecutors called \u201cbaseless\u201d in a recent court filing. But in December, when prosecutors said plea negotiations were ongoing, Santos said in an interview at that time that a deal was \u201cnot off the table.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked if he was afraid of going to prison,\u00a0he said<\/a>: \u201cI think everybody should be afraid of going to jail, it\u2019s not a pretty place and uh, I definitely want to work very hard to avoid that as best as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n Earlier this week, Judge Joanna Seybert\u00a0rejected<\/a>\u00a0Santos\u2019 request that potential jurors fill out a written questionnaire gauging their opinions of him. His lawyers argued in court filings it was necessary because \u201cfor all intents and purposes, Santos has already been found guilty in the court of public opinion.\u201d<\/p>\n Lawyers for the government had also been seeking to admit as evidence some of the lies Santos made during his campaign. Before he was elected in 2022 to represent parts of Queens and Long Island, he falsely claimed to have graduated from both New York University and Baruch College and that he had worked at top Wall Street firms.<\/p>\n Two campaign aides to Santos have already pleaded guilty to crimes related to the former congressman\u2019s campaign. Last October, his ex-treasurer,\u00a0Nancy Marks, pleaded guilty<\/a>\u00a0to a fraud conspiracy charge and implicated Santos in a scheme to embellish his campaign finance reports with a fake loan and fake donors. A lawyer for Marks said at the time his client would be willing to testify against Santos if asked, saying she had been \u201cmentally seduced\u201d by Santos.<\/p>\n A month later,\u00a0Sam Miele,<\/a>\u00a0a former fundraiser for Santos, pleaded guilty to a federal wire fraud charge, admitting he impersonated a high-ranking congressional aide while raising campaign cash for Santos.<\/p>\n The New York Republican was\u00a0expelled from Congress<\/a>\u00a0in December after an ethics investigation found \u201coverwhelming evidence\u201d he had broken the law and exploited his public position for his own profit.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n