Former Rep. George Santos sentenced to seven years for campaign fraud
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Former Representative George Santos was sentenced to seven years in prison for several charges including theft, credit card fraud, money laundering, and identity theft.
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Former US Rep. George Santos leaves federal court after being sentenced to more than seven years in prison for fraud and identity theft, on Friday, April 25, 2025, in Central Islip, NY. (AP)
George Santos, the disgraced former representative, was sentenced to over seven years in prison on Friday, marking the culmination of an extraordinary controversy that began with a fraudulent congressional campaign.
Santos, 36, was sentenced to 87 months in prison, where he sobbed in court while calling himself “humbled” and “chastised” as he acknowledged betraying the trust of his constituents, having pleaded guilty last summer to federal wire fraud and aggravated identity theft and appealed for leniency in hopes of a lighter sentence.
The 35-year-old politician was on trial for several federal charges, including theft, credit card fraud, money laundering, and identity theft.
He admitted to deceiving donors and stealing the identities of nearly a dozen individuals, including members of his own family, to finance his successful campaign, while also fabricating elaborate stories about his background, identity, and life experiences.
Previously, the controversial figure was revealed to have used donor money on vacations, luxury items, Botox treatments, and subscriptions to the adult website OnlyFans without regard for legal or ethical boundaries.
The former representative's sentencing stirred controversy as he, ahead of his Friday court appearance, took to social media to call himself a “scapegoat” in response to prosecutors’ accusations that he had orchestrated the fraudulent conspiracy.
Santos also accused the Justice Department of being a “cabal of pedophiles” in posts made to X, prompting prosecutors to highlight these inflammatory remarks in a filing submitted after his defense team requested a two-year prison sentence. He later defended his remarks, saying he was "profoundly sorry" for his crimes while claiming that a seven-year sentence is too harsh.
The DOJ wants me to go to prison for 87 months while they let sex traffickers walk freely, they give drug lords slaps on the wrist and most importantly refuse to prosecute the cabal of pedophiles running around in every power structure in the world including the US Government.
— Rep. George Santos (@RepSantosNY03) April 5, 2025
“Every sunrise since that plea has carried the same realization: I did this, me. I am responsible,” he wrote on X, adding, “But saying I’m sorry doesn’t require me to sit quietly while these prosecutors try to drop an anvil on my head.”
Prosecutors emphasized that Santos’s guilty plea marked what they described as the first instance of him being truthful about his criminal conduct, with Breon Peace, the US attorney for the eastern district of New York, stating that Santos had finally acknowledged engaging in a pattern of lies, theft, and deception that had defined his campaign and personal dealings
Santos' bizzare adventures
On November 29, 2023, US lawmakers voted to expel Santos from Congress. Santos had helped Republicans secure a narrow majority in 2022, but quickly drew controversy when it was revealed that much of his personal and professional history was fabricated, and a congressional ethics probe found overwhelming evidence of misconduct and accusing him of exploiting every aspect of his House candidacy for personal gain.
During a House debate a day before the expulsion vote, several members of Santos's own party publicly denounced him, calling him a "crook and a liar".
His expulsion marked the first booting of a representative since the Civil War, however, it seemed to have not been an issue for the eccentric representative who took to Cameo, where he responded to requests for "personalized video messages for any occasion."
George Santos' last public Cameo video before getting sentenced to seven years in prison pic.twitter.com/fEYymyghhu
— Drew Harwell (@drewharwell) April 25, 2025
In February of 2023, reports revealed that Santos set up a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for a dying assistance dog owned by a homeless Navy veteran, before raising $3,000, taking the money, and ghosting the veteran.
Additionally, the Representative was accused of sexual harassment by former aide Derek Myers, who claimed in a letter to the House Committee on Ethics that he was forced to volunteer in Santos's office and detailed an instance of sexual misconduct.
