George Santos looks on in Brooklyn court as scammer admits trying to trick him out of $900,000

NEW YORK – Convicted con man and ex-congressman George Santos sat in a Brooklyn courtroom Thursday and watched another con artist admit to a harebrained scheme to trick the former Queens lawmaker out of $900,000.

Santos sat in the gallery of Brooklyn Federal Court looking on as Hector Medina, 37, told a judge how he reached out to Santos, the lying former legislator, and other “high-profile” people in criminal trouble, offering to make their charges go away for large sums of cash.

Medina was busted in March for the scheme after spending two months in the summer of 2023 sending the notorious fibber unsolicited video and text messages advertising his so-called skills as a fixer.

Santos called the court case “the last pending issue I had as a member of Congress.”

“We have the right to oversight over the government, and it felt like unfinished business since my untimely departure,” Santos told reporters.

That untimely departure came in December, when the House voted to boot the Long Island Republican by a 311-114 vote as the fact-allergic Santos’ criminal problems mounted.

Last month, Santos entered a guilty plea of his own, three weeks before he was set to go to trial for a string of frauds, including repeatedly charging his campaign donors’ credit cards without their permission and using donor money to line his pockets and buy items like a designer wardrobe.

Medina, an El Paso, Texas resident, came into the picture in July, sending Santos an unsolicited video message on his phone using the name “Mike Soto.”

“You don’t know me but, I wanted you to see a face and trust me on what I’m about to tell you. I work with prosecutors and, uh, judges throughout the United States and I want to give you the opportunity to offer my services. I was contacted by some people to reach out to you and see if you wanted to cut a deal,” he said, according to the feds.

Later, he texted, “I can get all the charges dropped” and “All I need is for you or someone to wire 900k,” and sent more videos. Santos contacted federal authorities.

“This gentleman engaged in a self-incriminating monologue with me for two months. I’ve never answered him, never took his call, never answered the text, and he completely buried himself,” he said.

Santos said he had no idea how Medina got his phone number. “How do you guys get my phone number?” he asked reporters. “You guys always figure out a way.”

On Thursday, a nervous Medina had to repeat his guilty plea three times, first afterJudge Nicholas Garaufis admonished him for keeping his hands in his pockets, and again, when he blurted out, “Not guilty, I mean guilty.”

He admitted, “I used a cell phone to sent text messages to high-profile individuals. These individuals were charged with criminal offenses … I solicited them for money by falsely portraying myself as someone who could provide assistance.”

Garaufis asked, “You wanted to make money?” and Medina said, “Yes, your honor.”

Wire fraud carries a maximum 20-year prison term, but federal sentencing guidelines mean Medina will likely face roughly three to four years behind bars when he’s sentenced on Dec. 30.

Prosecutors had also accused Medina of running a similar scheme asking for $1 million from a Hollywood actor convicted of multiple felonies last year. A source familiar with the case confirmed that actor as Danny Masterson, who was convicted of raping two women and sentenced to 30 years to life in Los Angeles.

“Danny Masterson got what Danny Masterson deserved,” Santos mused when asked about the “That ’70s Show” star.

Medina was also accused of similar offers to a musician arrested in June and an athlete’s relative who was busted in May.

Santos, whose sentencing is Feb. 7, told reporters he remains “very bullish on Trump” in the upcoming presidential election, who he thinks will win in a close race.

Santos – who famously lied about nearly every aspect of his life and resume while running for office in 2022 – suggesting without evidence that Vice President Kamala Harris made up the story about her grandmother using a bullhorn in India to inform women about birth control.

“It’s quite funny that we only heard about that now. After 16 years in public life, she probably would have shared that sooner,” he said, wrongly – Harris has repeatedly told the anecdote over the years, including in her 2009 memoir.