Former Congressman George Santos could be sentenced to more than seven years in prison if prosecutors from New York succeed in their bid for a harsh penalty.
Santos, 36, who became only the sixth House member in history to be expelled from Congress and the first Republican to face such a fate, pleaded guilty to federal fraud and identity theft charges in August. The guilty plea was part of a deal after he was indicted on multiple felony charges.
The former lawmaker was found to have stolen from political donors, used campaign funds for personal expenses, lied to Congress about his wealth, and claimed unemployment benefits while employed. Despite the ongoing legal challenges, Santos posted on social media on Friday, saying, “No matter how hard the DOJ comes for me, they are mad because they will NEVER break my spirit,” following the latest court filing by the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
Santos has already agreed to serve at least two years in prison, with sentencing originally scheduled for February. However, he requested a delay, citing his need to earn enough money through his podcast to cover the nearly $600,000 in restitution and forfeiture he owes.
Prosecutors allege that Santos earned about $800,000 through Cameo, an app where he sold personalized video messages. Some reports indicated he charged $350 per video, sometimes using his drag persona, Kitara Ravache, despite having previously denied any involvement in drag or drag culture.
In their Friday filing, prosecutors argued that Santos deserves a significant sentence due to the gravity of his “unparalleled crimes” that undermined the integrity of the election system. “From fabricating a completely false biography to callously stealing from vulnerable donors, Santos’s insatiable greed and desire for fame allowed him to exploit the system that selects our representatives,” the prosecution stated. They also pointed out that Santos’s claims of remorse after pleading guilty seemed insincere and warned that he was likely to reoffend, especially since he has yet to forfeit any of his illicit gains or make restitution to his victims.
Santos’s defense team, however, has requested a two-year sentence, arguing that the government’s call for an 87-month term is excessive and based on a distorted narrative. Santos’s attorney, Andrew Mancilla, stated that the prosecution’s demand for such a harsh sentence “ignores sentencing norms for similar cases.”
Santos was expelled from the House after serving less than a year in office, following an Ethics Committee report revealing he misused campaign funds on luxury items and adult content sites, among other personal expenditures. At the time of his expulsion, he had not yet been convicted of a crime. During his campaign, Santos falsely claimed to have attended New York University, worked at major financial institutions like Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, and that his grandparents had fled the Nazis. None of these claims were true.
Once considered a rising political star, Santos flipped a suburban district in Long Island and part of Queens in 2022. However, his political career came to an abrupt halt, and he failed in an attempt to re-enter the House last year by running as an Independent in a neighboring district.
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