Former GOP Rep. George Santos is expected to plead guilty Monday to multiple counts of campaign finance fraud, less than a month after his trial began, two sources familiar with the matter told NBC News.
The disgraced former lawmaker faces a 23-count indictment in the Eastern District of New York, including wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and making false statements to the Federal Election Commission.
The superseding indictment is in addition to a 13-count federal indictment on charges of wire fraud, money laundering and theft of public funds that Santos was charged with in May 2023.
Santos previously pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Santos’ attorney did not return NBC News’ requests for comment.
Negotiations for a plea deal were already underway late last year, months after Santos was indicted, and after a September 2024 trial date had already been set.
At that time, Santos told a CBS New York reporter A plea deal is “not off the table, obviously, at this point.”
A hearing on the criminal plea is expected in federal court on Monday at 3 p.m. First reported Through the Talking Points Memo.
A spokeswoman for the FBI and a spokeswoman for the Eastern District of New York declined to comment to NBC News.
Santos was elected in 2022 when he flipped a congressional seat in New York’s Long Island from Democrat to Republican, helping ensure a narrow GOP majority in the House.
A few weeks before his tenure began, The New York Times exposed Santos He had lied abohoutside etcr decorated Some parts of his resume and personal history.
In December 2023, two-thirds of Santos’ House colleagues voted to expel him from Congress, effectively removing him from his congressional seat.
