Former Congressman George Santos was sentenced to more than seven years in a federal correctional facility. This comes on the heels of his conviction on 18 counts, including wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Santos previously — and fraudulently — depicted himself as the future Rep. Trump’s 23 federal felony counts, however, can mean only one thing—at least temporarily—this notoriously erect politician’s legal demise.
In 2023, Santos again attracted national attention when he became the first member of Congress expelled in more than two decades. He entered an even more exclusive group of just six people in history who’ve met such a fate. His political career was uproariously upended when salacious rumors began to bubble over. These led to an avalanche of lies regarding his work experience and lies about his education. The New York Times investigated and found that Santos lied his way into school. He faked a college degree and made up work history at major companies, including Citigroup and Goldman Sachs.
Santos’s legal woes took a sudden and severe turn. He’s already been accused of stealing money from a GoFundMe set up to pay for a dying dog’s vet bills and lying about his mom escaping the September 11 terrorist attacks. In front of a judge, he admitted to diverting money. He acknowledged that he had incorrectly filed for unemployment insurance benefits while still working and was sentenced for doing so.
Prosecutors asked Santos to be sentenced to 87 months in prison. They maintained that he was laundering campaign donations to pay for personal expenditures, and that he had fraudulently received unemployment insurance. His lawyers pleaded for an extremely lenient sentence of only two years. This is the statutory floor, not the maximum, for aggravated identity theft. In the end, the court ruled in favor of prosecutors with a sentence specifically tailored to demonstrate the seriousness of Santos’s long-running and pervasive fraud.
Santos was ordered to pay the full amount of his fraudulent damages at least $374,000 in restitution. During the court proceedings, the judge admonished Santos, stating, “You got elected with your words, most of which were lies.” This comment highlighted the depth of his mendacity and its effectiveness at saving his political skin.
Following the guilty verdict, Santos came forth with an intention to hold himself accountable. He stated, “If the president thinks I’m worthy of any level of clemency that is bestowed upon him, he can go ahead and do it, but for me to seek a pardon is to deny accountability and responsibility.” He further reflected on his future, saying, “I cannot rewrite the past, but I can control the road ahead.”
Santos’s political emergence had started, ironically, with his stunning, improbable victory over a long-serving Democratic incumbent in 2022. His victory soon fell apart as allegations emerged into his past, uncovering a breathtaking web of lies. The resulting scandal and criminal charges have rocked Santos’s world. They have changed the political culture in New York state.
Leave a Reply