Rep. George Santos pleads not guilty to new charges in Central Islip

Indicted Long Island Congressman George Santos will go on trial next September on fraud and conspiracy charges connected to alleged wrongdoing involving his congressional campaign, the judge in his case said Friday as Santos appeared in a Central Islip courtroom.

Santos, 35, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in federal court to 10 new charges unsealed earlier this month that allege he filed fraudulent fundraising reports to obtain financial support for his congressional campaign and stole thousands of dollars from his campaign contributors’ credit cards.

Prosecutors had asked for the trial, which will also include 13 previously filed charges against Santos, to begin in May or June. But U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert said she had other cases with defendants in custody that would take priority. She set his trial date for Sept. 9.

Afterward, Santos left the courthouse to chants of “Hey, hey, ho, ho! Santos has got to go!” He blew kisses and waved to the crowd of about two dozen while walking to a waiting white Jeep Grand Cherokee with his attorney. Both entered the car without commenting to reporters. 

The 23-count superseding indictment charges him with one count of conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States, two counts of wire fraud, two counts of making materially false statements to the Federal Election Commission, two counts of falsifying records submitted to obstruct the FEC, two counts of aggravated identity theft, and one count of access device fraud, as well as the earlier filed charges.

Santos, a freshman Republican who came into Congress under a cloud of controversy after The New York Times reported that he had lied about much of his professional and personal background, was first indicted in May on 13 counts alleging he orchestrated a series of schemes while running for Congress. He pleaded not guilty to those charges and has resisted calls to resign.

When Seybert announced the trial date of Sept. 9, some members of the public reacted with audible dismay. 

Susan Naftol, of the nonpartisan anti-Santos group Concerned Citizens of NY-03 — the 3rd Congressional District, which Santos represents — was one of those who expressed unhappiness with the trial date. 

"Because that means this fraud remains in Congress in our seat and we have no representation,” Naftol, of Plainview, explained outside the courtroom.

Santos’ latest court appearance came amid a revived effort from his fellow lawmakers to remove him from his congressional seat representing parts of Nassau and Queens.

It’s unclear whether the fractured House, with a slim GOP majority, will coalesce around the resolution introduced by fellow Long Island Republican Reps. Nick LaLota and Anthony D’Esposito.

The legislation needs two-thirds of House members to vote in favor of it to oust Santos. A vote could happen as soon as next week.

As Santos left the courthouse, Rich Osthoff, a New Jersey man, shouted at him. Osthoff has alleged that Santos in 2016 stole $3,000 meant to provide medical care for his sick dog, who later died.

“You killed my dog, George!” Osthoff shouted. 

Seeking a trial in spring

In court Friday, Santos was briefly put under oath for a Curcio hearing to determine if his attorney Joseph Murray could continue to represent him despite the lawyer having potential conflicts.

Murray had alerted prosecutors to his prior relationships with two key parties in the case against Santos. Nancy Marks, the former Santos campaign treasurer who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States, was also the treasurer for Murray’s failed 2019 bid for Queens district attorney. Murray’s campaign lasted two months, though his campaign account remains open but inactive.

Marks, in pleading guilty, admitted that she filed reports with both the FEC and the Republican National Committee that included the names of false donors to artificially inflate the amount of funds Santos raised to meet bench marks necessary to receive financial assistance from the national committee to meet the committee's goals

Additionally, Murray had a “personal relationship” with “Person #1” as identified in the indictment against Santos “arising from their mutual involvement in local politics,” prosecutors said. Murray had initial conversations about potentially representing him but ultimately didn’t.

Santos, who discussed the matter privately with separate legal counsel assigned by the court — Evan Sugar of the Federal Defenders — agreed to continue with Murray as his lawyer.

Sugar told the judge he had explained to Santos “the potential pitfalls, downsides” to continuing with Murray. Santos, who nodded as both Murray and Sugar spoke, told the judge, “Yes, your honor” when asked if he wanted to continue with Murray.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Harris said the prosecution would take “at its longest” about three weeks to try the case based on the superseding indictment and requested that if Seybert’s schedule opens up,  Santos’ trial could potentially be moved up.

Harris cited Santos’ position as a congressman and the “enormous public interest in the case” as reasons to proceed quickly.

Murray said he intended to bring on two lawyers to help him try the case.

“I do expect to put on a defense case,” said Murray, who estimated it would take a few days.

Murray also complained to the judge about comments made by Marks’ attorney, Ray Perini, following her guilty plea earlier this month.

“Her attorney went outside this courthouse and announced to the world that she has no plea agreement, but if she is asked to appear, she will quote, ‘Do the right thing,’” said Murray, adding, “I was just shocked by that. … It was very troubling to me.”

Prosecutors did not respond to Murray’s comments, but the judge said: “There’s not much I can do about that.” 

Santos was arrested in May on charges that he stole from political donors, fraudulently received unemployment benefits authorized under COVID-19, and lied on his congressional financial disclosure forms.

The Republican lawmaker, who remained free on a $500,000 unsecured bond, previously pleaded not guilty to those charges: 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 House of Representatives as part of the alleged schemes that prosecutors said began in 2020.

New charges detailed

In the new crimes alleged, prosecutors said Santos and Marks “conspired with one another to devise and execute a fraudulent scheme to obtain money for the campaign by submitting materially false reports to the FEC on behalf of the campaign, in which they inflated the campaign’s fundraising numbers for the purpose of misleading the FEC, a national party committee, and the public.”

Santos and Marks embarked on the scheme, prosecutors said, because they needed to demonstrate that his campaign had raised at least $250,000 from third-party contributors in a single quarter.

Santos and Marks “agreed to falsely report to the FEC that at least 10 family members of Santos and Marks had made significant financial contributions to the campaign” even though that was not the case, prosecutors said.

The pair also falsely reported to the FEC that Santos had lent the campaign money, including a $500,000 loan, at a time when Santos had less than $8,000 in his personal and business bank accounts, prosecutors said.

Santos also allegedly stole from his own supporters, prosecutors said.

From between approximately December 2021 and August 2022, Santos “devised and executed” a scheme in which he allegedly charged the credit cards of his campaign contributors, sometimes repeatedly, without their authorization. The money was transferred to Santos’ campaign, the campaigns of other elected officials, and to his own bank account, prosecutors said.

Protesters sound off

Anti-Santos protesters began gathering outside the courthouse Friday morning.

Several later spoke at a news conference organized by Concerned Citizens of NY-03. 

Emily Raphael of Plainview, a member of the organization’s steering committee, noted that Santos has been an ongoing punchline for social media memes and late-night talk show hosts.

“I’d really like to stress that turning his lying and his indecent lack of integrity, his criminality, into a punchline really trivializes the wrong being done to the people in his district,” Raphael said. “I am one of them. I am from Plainview. It’s not actually funny to have Santos pretend to represent us.” 

Paul Bua of Baldwin said Santos’ court appearance Friday was “just another episode in this malignant clown show of MAGA extremism holding the country hostage.”

“George Santos is just one symptom of the cancer that has enveloped our civic life, and we are here to call it out on every level,” Bua said. “It is specious to think of Santos as a singular event. George Santos is the product of the cabal that has incubated him for years in local politics. He was vetted and ran twice with the blessing of his local party.”

With Laura Figueroa Hernandez and Michael O'Keeffe

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.