Former Republican congressman George Santos has been sentenced to just over seven years in prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. The 36-year-old admitted to the federal charges last August in a New York courtroom. Prosecutors requested 87 months behind bars, a sentence that the judge ultimately imposed, rejecting the plea from Santos’s defense team for only two years, the minimum for aggravated identity theft.
The sentencing marks the final fall for the once-promising New York politician, whose congressional career ended in scandal after revelations that he had fabricated large portions of his background and misused campaign funds to finance a lavish personal lifestyle. Crying in court on Friday, Santos apologized for his actions, saying, “I cannot rewrite the past, but I can control the road ahead.” However, the judge remained skeptical, telling him, “You got elected with your words, most of which were lies.”
Santos is scheduled to report to prison on July 25. He was found to have laundered campaign donations for personal use, illegally collected unemployment benefits while employed, and lied to federal regulators including the Federal Election Commission. Court records reveal he charged over $44,000 to campaign credit cards belonging to unsuspecting donors. He also admitted to filing false financial statements both to the FEC and the House Ethics Committee.
In addition to his prison sentence, Santos has been ordered to repay at least $374,000 in restitution. Since his political downfall, he has attempted to raise money by selling personalized videos on the platform Cameo. His troubles began in 2022 when a New York Times investigation uncovered that Santos had falsified major elements of his resume, including claims of university degrees and employment at Wall Street firms like Citigroup and Goldman Sachs. The scandal deepened with further accusations, including stealing funds from a fundraiser for a dying dog and falsely claiming that his mother survived the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
These investigations led to 23 federal felony charges, and in 2023, Santos became the first member of Congress to be expelled in over 20 years, and only the sixth in American history. A damning report from the House Ethics Committee alleged that he spent campaign donations on personal luxuries, including Botox treatments and subscriptions to the OnlyFans website.
Santos had initially flipped a key district on Long Island and in Queens during the 2022 midterms, defeating a Democratic incumbent in a win that helped Republicans secure a slim House majority. A loyal supporter of former President Donald Trump, Santos publicly stated that he would not seek a pardon, arguing that doing so would be an evasion of responsibility. Yet in a podcast appearance with celebrity blogger Perez Hilton, Santos jokingly admitted he would request clemency if sentenced to a lengthy prison term, saying, “You bet your sweet ass I would.”
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