A former campaign fundraiser for indicted Rep. George Santos (R-NY) pleaded guilty on Tuesday to impersonating a high-ranking House staffer to solicit donations to the New York Republican’s campaign.
Samuel Miele, 27, was originally charged in August with four counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. He pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and also admitted to charging credit cards without authorization for contributions to the campaign, as well as his own personal expenses.
Miele “used fraud and deceit to steal” more than $100,000 from his victims, “funneling this money into the campaign committees of candidates for the House, and into his own pockets,” United States Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement.
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As part of his plea agreement, Miele will pay $109,171 in restitution, $69,136 in forfeiture, and $470,000 to a contributor. He will be sentenced on April 30 and faces upwards of 20 years in prison.
Miele is now the second Santos crony to cop a plea deal. Last month, former campaign treasurer Nancy Marks pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy, detailing how she submitted bogus financial reports to make it appear like Santos had more donors than he did.
In a statement to The Daily Beast, defense attorney Kevin Marino described Miele as “an intelligent young man with a bright future who made an unfortunate mistake.” “He has taken full responsibility for his actions and looks forward to putting this episode behind him and getting on with his life,” he added.
The Tuesday plea does not come as a complete surprise, since Brooklyn prosecutors hinted at “plea negotiations” with Miele in a September request for a delay in a status hearing.
Prosecutors allege that at the end of 2021, Miele, who worked for Santos for two election cycles, posed as then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s former chief of staff in phone calls and emails to more than a dozen potential campaign donors. An indictment stated that Miele got a 15 percent commission on each donation and admitted the scheme in a September 2022 letter to Santos.
Miele “misrepresented himself as a high-ranking congressional aide to deceived [sic] political donors and used their money to pad his own pocket and the coffers of a candidate,” District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly said in a Tuesday statement. “The integrity of fundraising practices is essential for fair elections.”
Miele was fired soon after his alleged antics were reported by multiple outlets earlier this year. He was also the subject of a Federal Election Commission (FEC) February complaint alleging he raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Santos in the alleged fraud scheme.
Santos was hit with a dozen federal fraud charges for several alleged crimes in May. Prosecutors allege he participated in three different schemes, including the misuse of campaign funds to collect COVID unemployment benefits while receiving a $120,000 salary. He has denied the allegations.
