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The former fundraiser for Rep. George Santos (R-N. Y. ) admitted to impersonating a House control aide and charging donors’ credit cards without authorization while running for Santos, the moment the former aide to the accused congressman pleads guilty.
Samuel Miele, 27, pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of wire fraud and said he committed device fraud, according to a spokesperson for the U. S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, which is prosecuting the case.
Miele’s guilty plea will likely exacerbate the tension Santos faces on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers from both parties have said the embattled new lawmaker will be removed from office.
It could also compound the legal threat to Santos, who is shielding himself against 23 federal charges and denies wrongdoing. Miele’s admission to fraudulently charging credit cards overlaps with Santos’ criminal charges, though it was not immediately clear whether Miele agreed to testify against the congressman.
Miele’s sentencing is set for April 30 at the U. S. Attorney’s Office.
Santos survived two expulsion votes in Congress, neither of which managed to secure the two-thirds majority needed to oust a sitting lawmaker. Last month, 179 members, from both sides of the aisle, voted to expel Santos from the chamber.
And that comes days before the House Ethics Committee releases its final report on its investigation targeting Santos. The committee announced last month that it would reveal its “next course of action” in the investigation no later than Nov. 17. Santos for months, for a series of accusations against the congressman.
Lawmakers have said they expect the report to be damning, and at least one New York Republican, Rep. Nick LaLota, is forcing another vote on expelling Santos once the panel releases its work.
Santos said that even if he were expelled from Congress, he would still run for his seat in 2024.
The Hill reached out to Santos and his team for comment.
Prosecutors charged Miele in August with four counts of wire fraud and one count of identity theft foiled for impersonating a top aide to a House executive while soliciting donations for Santos’ campaign.
Although the aide’s call is not mentioned in the charging documents, it appears to be former President Kevin McCarthy’s former leader (R-Calif. ).
Prosecutors said Miele, based on his statement, agreed to pay $109,171 in restitution, $69,136 in forfeiture and make a separate payment of $470,000 to an anonymous taxpayer.
“The defendant used fraud and deception to borrow more than $100,000 from his victims, funneling that money to House candidates’ crusade committees and into his own pockets,” U. S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement. “Defrauding potential political participants undermines our democracy, and we will vigorously pursue that conduct. “
The charges against Miele come about three months after Santos himself was indicted on charges of misleading donations, fraudulent collection of unemployment benefits and lying about financial information.
Since Santos’ indictment, his former campaign treasurer, Nancy Marks, has reached a plea deal, and prosecutors have also unsealed a second set of charges against Santos, accusing him at most recently of inflating his campaign finance reports and collecting credit card authorization from donors. .
New York Republicans who forced a vote on Santos’ deportation last month cited Marks’ plea deal as the catalyst for their resolve to move forward in their bid to oust the lawmaker.
This story was updated at 3:12 p. m.
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