Former Rep. George Santos (R-NY) has been sentenced to serve over seven years in federal prison for multiple charges, including wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Santos was sentenced to 87 months in prison during a Friday morning hearing, according to multiple reports.
He was sentenced after pleading guilty to multiple charges.
Federal prosecutors described Santos as a “pathological liar and fraudster.”
They argued in court filings that his offenses were not mere lapses in judgment but part of a calculated pattern of deceit.
Prosecutors told he court that Santos defrauded donors, misled the public, and undermined the democratic process.
The saga of Santos’s downfall began in 2022 when he won the election to represent parts of Queens and Long Island in Congress.
At the time, he was a relatively unknown figure on the national stage.
But local reporting by The North Shore Leader raised early red flags about discrepancies in his personal and financial disclosures.
Those concerns were largely ignored during the campaign but quickly escalated after his surprise victory in November.
Santos served in the House of Representatives for nearly a year before his House colleagues expelled him in December 2023.
A damning House Ethics Committee report concluded there was “substantial evidence” of criminal wrongdoing and financial misconduct.
He was expelled over 23 federal charges related to wire fraud and identity theft.
Santos became only the sixth member of the U.S. House of Representatives ever expelled by his peers.
The former lawmaker pleaded guilty to the charges in April 2024.
Prosecutors for the Eastern District of New York asked that he be sentenced to seven years in prison.
“Mr. Santos, words have consequences,” the Federal District Judge Joanna Seybert told Santos on Friday.
“You got elected with your words, most of which were lies.”
In a letter submitted to Judge Seybert ahead of his sentencing, Santos attempted to show remorse.
“Every sunrise since that plea has carried the same realization: I did this, me. I am responsible,” he wrote.
However, he also expressed frustration with the prosecution’s portrayal of him as unrepentant.
He claimed that “saying I’m sorry doesn’t require me to sit quietly while these prosecutors try to drop an anvil on my head.”
Santos told the New York Times on Thursday that he was “totally resigned” to going to prison.
“I came to this world alone,” Santos reflected.
“I will deal with it alone, and I will go out alone.”
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