Embattled GOP congressman George Santos has reached a deal with prosecutors in Brazil to avoid a trial and repay the $1,300 he stole from a Rio de Janeiro clerk.
According to CNN, Santos will formally confess to the crime and pay damages to the victim he defraud in 2008 as required under Brazilian law.
These types of agreements are allowed in Brazil for non-violent cases where the sentencing minimum is under four years, CNN noted.
In their petition in January requesting this non-prosecutorial agreement, attorneys for Santos argued that he is now gainfully employed and “re-socialized.”
Prosecutors agreed to the deal last week.
Santos admitted to police in 2010 that he used a checkbook stolen from the victim to pay for the $1,300 worth of clothing. But the case went cold because prosecutors were unable to locate him until he was elected to US Congress.
Despite his confession over a decade ago, Santos denied committing a crime in Brazil in an interview with the New York Post in December.
“I am not a criminal here — not here or in Brazil or any jurisdiction in the world,” Santos said. “Absolutely not. That didn’t happen.”
