N.Y. congressman faces 13 federal charges

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New York Congressman George Santos on Wednesday surrendered to federal law enforcement at a Long Island, N.Y., courthouse. The Justice Department charged the freshman representative with seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds, and two counts of lying to the House of Representatives. Prosecutors also charged him with two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives. He pleaded not guilty and was released on $500,000 bond. Santos could face up to 20 years in prison if he is convicted, prosecutors said. His next hearing is scheduled for June 30.

What led to this point? House members on both sides of the political aisle have called for the freshman representative to resign after he admitted to lying about his education and career. Santos, who is a Republican, stepped down from his two committee assignments in January and the House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into his background in March.

Dig deeper: Read Samuel D. James’ column in WORLD Opinions about George Santos and his moment of truth.

Lauren Canterberry

Lauren Canterberry is a reporter for WORLD. She graduated from the World Journalism Institute and the University of Georgia with a degree in journalism, both in 2017. She worked as a local reporter in Texas and now lives in Georgia with her husband.