Another former campaign staffer of Rep. George Santos (R-NY) has pleaded guilty in part of a federal investigation into claims the New York Republican committed fraud during his campaigns for the House.
Samuel Miele, who served as a campaign fundraiser for Santos during the 2020 and 2022 election cycles, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud on Tuesday, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York.
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Miele was charged earlier this year with four counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft in an alleged fraud scheme, which he previously pleaded not guilty to. On Tuesday, Miele admitted he committed wire fraud but not identity theft.
The Justice Department said Miele impersonated a high-ranking aide to a member of House leadership, listed as "Person #1" in the indictment, as part of a "scheme" to collect donations for Santos's campaigns. Multiple outlets have reported that "Person #1" is believed to be former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's (R-CA) chief of staff.
Miele admitted to committing access fraud by charging credit cards without authorization for contributions to Santos's campaign, other candidates' campaigns, and for his own personal use.
The former fundraiser faces up to 20 years in prison. Miele agreed to pay $109,171 in restitution, $69,136 in forfeiture, and a separate stipulated payment of $470,000 to a contributor, according to the DOJ.
"The defendant used fraud and deceit to steal more than one hundred thousand dollars from his victims, funneling this money into the campaign committees of candidates for the House, and into his own pockets,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement. “Defrauding potential political contributors undermines our democracy, and we will vigorously prosecute such conduct.”
Miele's guilty plea comes over a month after then-campaign treasurer Nancy Marks pleaded guilty to conspiring with a congressional candidate to deceive the Federal Election Commission. She faces up to five years in prison.
Santos recently pleaded not guilty to charges in a new indictment brought against him by Peace. The indictment alleged that he filed deceptive fundraising reports and committed credit card fraud during the 2022 election cycle. The New York Republican was originally indicted on six charges in May, but Peace brought 17 new charges in a superseding indictment on Oct. 10.
In an interview with CNN last week, Santos placed the blame for his 23 charges at Marks's feet.
“I never ever submitted or even looked at a single report,” Santos said. “I'm a candidate. Candidates do not handle money. Candidates do not handle finances. Candidates do not handle filings. I don't even know what the FEC filing system looks like.”
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The New York freshman has repeatedly come under fire for his legal troubles since being sworn into Congress earlier this year, with several lawmakers, including those from his own party, calling for his resignation.
Santos survived a second expulsion attempt in Congress after the House rejected a motion to remove him on Nov. 1, citing an ongoing congressional ethics investigation into the New York Republican. The Ethics Committee issued an update to the investigation on Oct. 31, which is looking at Santos's federal indictments, as well as several other state criminal and ethical indictments.