Prosecutors in former Rep. George Santos case ask judge to deny dismissal of some charges, court records show

Federal prosecutors are asking a judge to deny a request by lawyers for ex-Long Island Rep. George Santos to dismiss parts of the criminal case against him, including charges of identity theft and theft of government funds, court papers filed Monday show.

“His arguments in support of these requests lack a basis in either fact or law and should accordingly be rejected,” federal prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York wrote. “The Motion should be denied in its entirety without a hearing.”

The government responded to a pretrial motion filed by Santos’ lawyers in early May, which argued the charges should be dismissed because there are insufficient facts that a crime has been committed, they’re unconstitutionally vague or duplicative.

Santos, 35, has pleaded not guilty to an indictment charging him with various schemes, including fraudulently receiving unemployment benefits authorized during the COVID-19 pandemic and lying on his congressional financial disclosure forms.

Santos is also accused of filing fraudulent fundraising reports to get support for his congressional campaign and stealing thousands of dollars from his campaign contributors by charging their credit cards without authorization. Both a fundraiser and his campaign treasurer have pleaded guilty to related federal indictments.

Prosecutors also urged the presiding judge to deny a request by Santos’ attorneys seeking certain evidence the government has against him, including notes of witness interviews, as well as a bill of particulars, which provides specific details about what a defendant allegedly did wrong.

Federal prosecutors — Ryan C. Harris, Anthony Bagnuola, Laura Zuckerwise, Corey R. Amundson, Jacob R. Steiner and John P. Taddei — argued they provided a list of the names of each of the contributors and other people and entities that are anonymously listed in the indictment to Santos’ defense last October. Citing prior cases, prosecutors wrote that a bill of particulars should not be used as a “discovery device” and “is required only when the charges in the indictment are so general that they fail to apprise the defendant of the specific acts of which he is accused.”

Prosecutors also argued against Santos’ lawyers’ attempt to dismiss the charge of aggravated identity theft charges in light of a unanimous 2023 ruling, in Dubin v. United States, from the U.S. Supreme Court narrowing the identity theft statute. Santos’ attorneys argue, in light of the precedent made in that case, that his alleged fraudulent use of names in a Federal Election Commission filing in which he is accused of falsely inflating his campaign’s fundraising totals wouldn’t constitute identity theft, nor would his alleged overcharging of donors’ credit cards.

“Santos did not merely “use” credit card information that he properly possessed; he abused it, with specific intent to defraud, to increase the amount of money he had appeared to raise as a candidate for the House,” prosecutors wrote in their response. “Nor did he merely “use” names in entering fraudulent charges on his victims’ credit cards; he misused them deceitfully, with specific intent to mask, conceal, and prolong his unlawful activities. This is core aggravated identity theft under Dubin.”

Santos’ attorneys — Joseph Murray, of Great Neck, and Andrew Mancilla and Robert Fantone, of Manhattan — could not be reached for comment Monday.

Santos was elected in November 2022 to represent western Nassau and a section of Queens, months after The New York Times reported he had lied about his personal and professional biography.

Santos was expelled from Congress last December after a House Ethics report found he had engaged in “unlawful conduct” and knowingly deceived constituents “for his own personal profit.”

He announced he would run for another seat representing Long Island in Congress — the First Congressional District, which covers the East End and is currently occupied by Congressman Nick LaLota — but quickly dropped out.

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.