Nassau Legislator Dave Denenberg was expected to plead guilty to mail fraud charges in Central Islip Federal Court Thursday, but his hearing was postponed until January.

Prosecutors say the Merrick lawmaker billed a client of his former law firm more than $2 million for services he never performed.

Denenberg's own law firm filed a $3.6 million suit against him, causing the Democrat to drop out of the race for state Senate.

The legislator originally pleaded not guilty to the fraud charges and called the allegations against him "outrageous" and politically motivated.

The Merrick Democrat did appear before a judge Thursday. Federal prosecutors say a plea deal has been agreed upon, but Denenberg and his lawyer told News 12 that they were not ready to officially accept that deal in court.

The terms of the plea negotiations have not been made public. The next hearing will be held on Jan. 21.