Former Rep. George Santos hit with staggering sentencing
In this DML Report…
Former U.S. Representative George Santos was sentenced to 87 months in prison by a federal judge in Central Islip, New York, for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Santos, a New York Republican who served less than a year in Congress before his 2023 expulsion, pleaded guilty last summer after facing 23 federal charges. He admitted to falsifying Federal Election Commission reports, stealing donor identities for credit card fraud, misusing campaign funds for personal expenses like designer clothing, fraudulently claiming unemployment benefits, and lying to the House of Representatives. As part of his plea deal, Santos must pay $580,000 in restitution and has until July 25 to report to prison.
Prosecutors pushed for the 87-month sentence, arguing that Santos showed no genuine remorse and posed a high risk of reoffending, citing his social media posts where he portrayed himself as a victim of prosecutorial overreach. They highlighted his crimes as a betrayal of public trust, noting he stole from nearly a dozen people, including family members, to fund his 2022 campaign. Santos’ legal team requested a two-year sentence, the mandatory minimum for aggravated identity theft, claiming he had accepted responsibility, but the court rejected this, with Judge Joanna Seybert condemning his “flagrant thievery” and lack of accountability during the sentencing.
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Santos’ downfall began with a December 2022 New York Times exposé revealing his fabricated resume, including false claims about his education, Wall Street career, and family history. Elected to represent New York’s 3rd Congressional District, he was indicted in May 2023 on 13 counts, with charges escalating as investigations uncovered his fraudulent schemes. His case marks a rare instance of a sitting congressman being expelled, with the House Ethics Committee finding substantial evidence of lawbreaking, underscoring the severity of his actions and their impact on public confidence in the electoral system.