Rep. Santos pleads not guilty to new theft, fraud charges
Friday’s court appearance comes one day after several New York Republicans, led by Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, filed a resolution to expel Santos from Congress.
By Nicki Brown | CNN
Rep. George Santos pleaded not guilty in federal court Friday to 10 charges alleging he stole donors’ identities and ran up thousands of dollars in fraudulent charges on their credit cards, among other offenses.
The New York Republican’s attorney Joseph Murray entered the not guilty plea on behalf of his client.
US District Judge Joanna Seybert set a trial date for September 9, 2024.
The 10 charges were unveiled in a superseding indictment filed earlier this month. It also includes allegations that the New York Republican embezzled cash from his company and conspired with his former campaign treasurer to falsify donation totals in order to hit fundraising targets set by national Republicans, among other offenses.
This fresh round of charges brings the total number of counts against Santos to 23. The superseding indictment provided new and damaging details about Santos’ alleged efforts to personally profit through his campaign.
In May, Santos, 35, pleaded not guilty to 13 federal charges. Those initial charges included seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds and two counts of making materially false statements to the US House of Representatives.
Friday’s court appearance comes one day after several New York Republicans, led by Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, filed a resolution to expel Santos from Congress.