Former U.S. Rep. George Santos, a Republican who was exposed for spinning a web of lies that devolved into identity theft and wire fraud, was sentenced to serve 87 months in prison, the length that prosecutors sought.
“Santos’ disgraceful and greedy conduct has been exposed and at last it’s been brought to justice,” John Durham, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said following the sentencing at Central Islip federal court on Friday, April 25.
The seven-year punishment represents the combination of two consecutive sentences for the two counts he pleaded guilty to. He is also required to pay $373,000 in restitution to his victims.
George Santos was granted three months to surrender into custody, giving him until July 25 to begin his sentence.
Santos was indicted in May 2023 on 13 counts of wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and making materially false statements to Congress.
In October 2023, he was handed an additional 10 conspiracy charges to commit offenses against the United States, wire fraud, lying to the Federal Election Commission, falsifying records, aggravated identity theft, and device fraud.
Santos, who represented New York’s 3rd Congressional District on the North Shore of Nassau County and northeastern Queens, was elected in November 2022. He was expelled in December 2023 after House Ethics investigations into allegations of his unethical and illegal activities that began shortly following his election.
In August 2024, Santos pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud and identity theft. In exchange for his guilty plea, the 21 other charges from his indictment were dropped.
In court, Santos admitted to falsifying campaign fund numbers to meet Federal Election Commission benchmarks and get proper funding from the Republican National Committee — something his campaign treasurer, Nancy Marks, pleaded guilty to.
Santos admitted to applying for unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic despite not being unemployed. He also admitted to using the names of friends and family members to do this, which is the basis for the wire fraud and identity theft charges.
Read also: Federal prosecutors say George Santos lacks remorse, seek 87-month sentence
George Santos was handed the longest sentence available for his crimes, which the Justice Department pursued. His defense team sought a shorter sentence of two years in prison with two years of suspended release.
Much of the argument over the sentence length revolved around whether Santos served as the leader or co-leader of this scheme, referencing Marks, who also pleaded guilty to charges.
The defense tried to say Marks acted on her own volition to perpetuate the scheme alongside Santos. The Justice Department said no scheme would have existed without Santos’ campaign, his leading of it, and his hiring of Marks. The judge agreed with the Justice Department and deemed him the leader of this.
The defense also compared Santos’ crimes to those of other politicians, referencing how others received lesser sentences than the one he was facing. The Justice Department provided its own list of politicians who were comparable but had been handed even longer sentences than Santos.
Santos was composed during much of the hearing, but he got choked up when he was invited to speak on his defense. Some of his words were unintelligible as he spoke through tears.
Santos extended his “deepest apologies” to his victims and, speaking directly to Reardon, he said he was aware he had “betrayed the confidence entrusted in him.”
“I cannot rewrite the past,” Santos said, adding that he will do what he can to correct his wrongs.
As the sentence was delivered, Santos appeared emotional, frequently putting his head into his hands and covering his face.
State Labor Department Commissioner Roberta Reardon spoke as one of George Santos’ victims during Friday’s sentencing. She attested to the unemployment insurance fraud Santos committed, which she said was “not victimless,” and asked that he receive the longest sentence possible.
Residents thanked Durham when he spoke in front of the courthouse after Santos’ sentencing. Durham, in turn, thanked the residents before he gave remarks in response to the sentencing.
“Santos’ blatant corruption is an affront to our electoral process,” Durham said. “… But today, finally, Santos has been held accountable for his years of fraud, deceit and theft. He’s going to federal prison. He’s going to be punished for his staggering fraud, the abuses he put on our electoral process, for mocking our democratic institutions, and most importantly, betraying and defrauding his supporters, his voters, his donors.”
George Santos declined to comment to reporters as he fled the courthouse in a waiting vehicle that was surrounded by protesters who heckled him as he left.
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