George Santos' former campaign treasurer, Nancy Marks, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud, admitting that she fraudulently reported hundreds of thousands of dollars in fake loans that her boss claimed he made to his campaign.
Marks, who worked for Santos as campaign treasurer, appeared in New York federal court on Thursday afternoon after authorities arrested her. The two individuals allegedly devised and executed a fraudulent scheme to obtain money for the campaign by submitting materially false reports to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on behalf of the campaign.
Nancy Marks Pleads Guilty
Prosecutors said that they did it by inflating the campaign's fundraising numbers to mislead the FEC, a national party committee, and the public. Court papers filed in Marks' case did not explicitly name the embattled New York congressman but described him and his campaign.
As part of their alleged scheme, Marks and Santos supposedly agreed to falsely report to the FEC that he had loaned his campaign $500,000 when he did not do so and did not have the funds needed to provide such a loan, as per CBS News.
Additionally, the false reports allowed the Republican congressman to meet benchmarks that he needed to qualify his campaign to receive financial support from the national party committee. In a statement, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace said that his office will continue holding accountable those who perpetrate fraud on the public and the institutions that help maintain transparency in the electoral process.
In May, a federal grand jury indicted Santos with seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives, and one count of theft of public funds.
The Republican pleaded not guilty to all counts and has consistently denied any wrongdoing during his campaign. Santos has also been dogged by allegations that he inflated his resume and lied about his experience to bolster his chances for re-election in the 2022 political campaign.
George Santos Fraud Case
Marks appeared before the same judge presiding over Santos' case and looked stoic and composed in the Central Islip, New York courtroom. According to the New York Times, the 58-year-old told the court that the loan had not been made.
An assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Anthony Bagnuola, said in court that Santos' campaign falsely reported contributions from at least ten members of the two defendants' families on a 2021 filing.
Raymond Perini, Marks' attorney, said his client does not have a cooperation agreement with the government "at this time." He added that they will do the right thing if they get a subpoena.
Perini, when addressing why his client helped Santos with the fraud, said that there was a manipulation involved that had to do with her family and the death of her husband, said CNN.
