- Samuel Miele, a former campaign fundraiser for New York Rep. George Santos, pleaded guilty in a federal felony case in Long Island.
- The first-term Republican congressman Santos is charged in the similar court docket in an indictment with fraud, cash laundering, robbery of public finances, and making false statements.
- Santos, who lied about sides of his non-public {and professional} lifestyles, has resisted calls for he surrender from Congress.
WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 01: Rep. George Santos (R-NY) walks again to his place of job after debate at the House ground on a answer to expel him from Congress, on the U.S. Capitol November 1, 2023 in Washington, DC. On Wednesday night time, Congress is scheduled vote on an expulsion answer in opposition to Rep. Santos and censure resolutions in opposition to Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA). (Photo via Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Drew Angerer | Getty Images News | Getty Images
A former campaign fundraiser for embattled Rep. George Santos of New York pleaded guilty Tuesday in a federal felony case.
The guilty plea via Samuel Miele comes simply 3 months after he was once indicted within the case in Long Island federal court docket on fees associated with impersonating a best aide to ex-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy as he sought donations for Santos.
Last month, Santos’ former campaign treasurer Nancy Marks pleaded guilty in the similar court docket to a couple of campaign finance felonies associated with her paintings for him.
Santos, 35, himself is charged in the similar court docket in a 23-count superseding indictment with fraud, cash laundering, robbery of public finances, and making false statements.
When they added new fees in opposition to him ultimate month, prosecutors accused Santos of stealing other folks’s identities and making fees on his donor’s credit playing cards with out their permission, and of falsely inflating his campaign’s reported receipts “with non-existent loans and contributions that were either fabricated or stolen.”
The congressman, who represents portions of Queens and Nassau County, Long Island, fell beneath scrutiny in overdue 2022 quickly after profitable his House seat when a chain of news articles uncovered how he had lied about his circle of relatives background, schooling, {and professional} resume.
Miele, 27, had raised cash for Santos all through the Republican’s first campaign for Congress in 2020, and alternatively in 2022.
Miele was once accused of pretending to be the aide for the California Republican McCarthy whilst soliciting donations for Santos from greater than a dozen would-be members. Miele was once paid a fee of 15% on every a hit donation.
The aide was once now not known in charging paperwork. But CNBC reported early this yr that Miele made calls and despatched emails to possible donors whilst claiming to be McCarthy’s leader of group of workers Dan Meyer all through the previous two congressional election cycles.
Santos has pleaded now not guilty in his personal felony case, and has refused calls for via fellow House Republicans from New York and others to surrender.
When Santos was once first indicted in May, U.S. Attorney Breon Peace stated, “This indictment seeks to hold Santos accountable for various alleged fraudulent schemes and brazen misrepresentations.”
“Taken together, the allegations in the indictment charge Santos with relying on repeated dishonesty and deception to ascend to the halls of Congress and enrich himself,” Peace stated.
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