On Friday, Representative George Santos appeared in federal court and entered a plea of not guilty to face 10 charges. These allegations accuse him of stealing the identities of donors and racking up substantial fraudulent charges on their credit cards, among other offenses. Joseph Murray, the attorney representing the New York Republican, submitted the not guilty plea on his client’s behalf.
US District Judge Joanna Seybert has scheduled a trial for September 9, 2024.
These 10 charges were disclosed in a recently updated indictment filed earlier this month. They also include accusations that the New York Republican misappropriated funds from his own company and collaborated with his former campaign treasurer in manipulating donation figures to meet fundraising targets set by national Republicans, among other offenses.
This latest set of charges has increased the total number of counts against Santos to 23. The updated indictment contains new and damning details regarding Santos’ purported efforts to personally benefit from his political campaign.
In May, George Santos, aged 35, pleaded not guilty to 13 federal charges, which encompassed seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of misappropriation of public funds, and two counts of making false statements to the US House of Representatives.
Notably, this court appearance on Friday occurred one day after several New York Republicans, led by Representative Anthony D’Esposito, initiated a resolution to expel Santos from Congress.
