Lyin’ ex-Rep. George Santos pleads guilty to fraud charges

Lyin’ ex-Long Island Rep. George Santos pleaded guilty to corruption charges in a sprawling federal fraud case Monday — just three weeks before he was set to face trial.

Santos, 36, appeared in Central Islip federal court where he copped a plea deal allowing him to avoid trial on nearly two dozen charges for which he faced 20 years in prison.

The New York Republican congressman — who has since been kicked out of office — initially pleaded not guilty to a slew of crimes tied to laundering campaign funds and defrauding donors.

The feds say he lied to Congress about his wealth, collected unemployment benefits while he was actually working and used campaign contributions on expenses for himself like buying designer clothes, getting Botox injections and taking lavish trips.

He would have faced up to 20 years behind bars if convicted at trial. He may still face prison time at his sentencing but it is likely to be far less under federal sentencing guidelines — which are lowered when a defendant has accepted responsibility.

Santos notoriously fibbed while on the campaign trial, prior to his election in 2022, about graduating from New York University and Baruch College and also about working at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, the feds alleged in asking a judge to allow the additional prior conduct to be allowed in at trial to bolster their 23 fraud charges.

He was elected in 2022 to represent parts of Nassau County and Queens but was the first House Republican — and only the sixth US Representative — to be expelled from office in December.

An ethics investigation found that there was “overwhelming evidence” he’d broken the law and used his position in office for personal gain.

Santos then launched a failed bid to run as an Independent to unseat Suffolk County Congressman Nick LaLota, before calling it quits when he didn’t raise enough money.

Earlier Monday, a Manhattan federal judge tossed Santos’ suit against late night television host Jimmy Kimmel for allegedly misusing his Cameo clips on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”

Judge Denise Cote found the short videos “were used for political commentary and criticism,” which is what the videos were intended for.

Santos claimed he was tricked into making over 14 videos, which the talk-show host allegedly used to ridicule him.

Kimmel blasted the suit as “preposterous” at the time.