George Santos Sentenced to 7 Years in Prison
The gay former congressman from New York has been sentenced to 87 months in prison after pleading guilty to identity theft and fraud charges.
George Santos, one of the few politicians to ever be expelled from Congress, has been sentenced to 87 months in prison for aggravated identity theft and wire fraud charges stemming from an alleged misuse of campaign donations from his successful 2022 race.
On April 25, Senior Judge Joanna Seybert, of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, handed down the more than 7-year sentence against the gay former congressman from New York, ordering that he surrender to federal authorities by July 25.
The 36-year-old Republican was sobbing as the sentence was issued, noting in a brief statement that he had “betrayed the confidence entrusted in me” by his political supporters and allies.
“I cannot rewrite the past, but I can control the road ahead. I have tried my best,” he said.
Santos’ lawyers had previously asked the court for a sentence of two years behind bars — the mandatory minimum for aggravated identity theft.
They argued that Santos has no prior criminal record and that such a reduced sentence would align with those handed to other political figures, including former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-Ill.), reports the Associated Press.
But prosecutors, who had initially asked for more than a seven-year prison sentence, argued that multiple incendiary social media posts made by Santos showed a lack of remorse for his crimes — despite agreeing to a plea deal last August.
In those posts, Santos disparaged the U.S. Department of Justice as a “cabal of pedophiles,” cast himself as a victim of prosecutorial overreach, and denied some of the facts to which he pleaded guilty, including allegations that he used campaign contributions to buy luxury goods from Hermès.
Prosecutors claimed those posts illustrated that Santos was not deserving of a more lenient sentence and that he had a “high likelihood of reoffending” because he had not repaid or made restitution to the victims of his crimes.
Before the sentencing, Santos wrote to Seybert defending his online social media tirades, telling the judge he was “profoundly sorry” for his crimes but expressing his belief that the recommended sentence was “ridiculous” and overly harsh.
“Contesting the severity of a proposed sentence is not the same as contesting guilt, and punishing protected speech because it questions punishment should trouble anyone who values fair prosecution over personal vindication,” he wrote.
Santos claimed to be the “scapegoat” for his campaign’s financial misdeeds, arguing that his former campaign treasurer, Nancy Marks, who has pleaded guilty to falsifying campaign reports, was equally guilty in the scheme.
He also contended that he had made efforts to pay back the roughly $580,000 he owes as part of the plea deal — including nearly $375,000 in restitution to those he defrauded and $205,000 as a forfeiture for wrongdoing — by liquidating personal assets and reducing living expenses to raise the money.
Santos was elected in 2022 to represent parts of Queens and Long Island. He served barely a year before being expelled by his fellow House members.
Shortly after his election, it was revealed he had fabricated significant details of his life story, leading to more questions about how he had funded his political campaign.
That led to a House Ethics Committee investigation, followed by the release of a damning report finding “substantial evidence” of potential criminal and ethical wrongdoing.
Separately, Santos was indicted on nearly two dozen charges, including allegations that he applied for — and received — unemployment benefits intended for Americans who had lost work due to the COVID-19 pandemic, for which he was not eligible. There were also charges of wire fraud, money laundering, credit card fraud, identity theft, theft of public funds, and making false statements to the U.S. House of Representatives.
Santos initially pleaded not guilty to the charges and even mounted a brief run as an independent for Congress against a fellow New York Republican who had been outspoken in condemning Santos’ behavior.
He later changed his plea to guilty weeks before he was set to stand trial.
As part of that plea deal, he admitted to charging donors’ credit cards without authorization, deceiving donors by falsely claiming money they donated would be used for TV ads — only to spend that money on personal expenses — and stealing the identities of nearly a dozen people, including his own family members, to make donations to his campaign, in order to meet the financial threshold to qualify for additional financial help from the National Republican Congressional Committee.
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