Santos Sentenced

George Santos, former U.S. Representative for New York’s 3rd Congressional District, was sentenced on April 25 to 87 months in Federal prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. He was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert in Central Islip, also requiring Santos to pay nearly $374,000 in restitution to his victims and forfeit over $200,000.

Santos, 36, pleaded guilty in August 2024 to a series of fraudulent schemes carried out over multiple years. These included misrepresenting his campaign finances to the Federal Election Commission, stealing donors’ credit card information to make unauthorized charges, and claiming COVID-19 unemployment benefits while he was employed.

“Today, George Santos was finally held accountable for the mountain of lies, theft, and fraud he perpetrated.  For the defendant, it was judgment day, and for his many victims including campaign donors, political parties, government agencies, elected bodies, his own family members, and his constituents, it is justice. To Mr. Santos and other dishonest individuals of that ilk, who lie, steal identities and commit frauds to get elected to public office, this prosecution speaks to the truth that my Office is committed to aggressively rooting out public corruption and that public officials who criminally abuse our electoral process will end up in a Federal prison,” U.S. Attorney John J. Durham said.

Santos is scheduled to report to prison by July 25.

“I believe that 7 years is an over the top politically influenced sentence and I implore that President Trump gives me a chance to prove I’m more than the mistakes I’ve made,” Santos wrote.

According to prosecutors, Santos and his campaign treasurer, Nancy Marks, falsely reported donations and personal loans to qualify for a national party committee program that would provide campaign support. Some of the reported donations came from family members who had neither contributed nor given permission to use their names. One reported loan of $500,000 was filed while Santos allegedly had less than $8,000 in his accounts.

Santos also admitted to using donors’ credit cards without authorization, directing contributions to both his own campaign and the campaigns of others. In several cases, the people whose cards were used were elderly and experiencing cognitive decline.

During the 2022 campaign, Santos operated a limited liability company used to solicit $50,000 from two donors under the lie of supporting his congressional race. In actuality, the funds were transferred to Santos’s personal accounts and used for personal expenses including luxury items.

Santos also pleaded guilty to falsely claiming unemployment insurance benefits from New York State while employed by a Florida investment firm.

As required for all House candidates, Santos filed Financial Disclosure Statements in 2022 that falsely claimed he had received up to $5 million in dividends, had up to $5 million in savings, and more. Prosecutors said these overstated his income and assets while also not stating any other sources of income, like how he had received more than $20,000 in unemployment benefits from the New York State Department of Labor.

Santos was elected to Congress in 2022 but was expelled from the House in December 2023 following a bipartisan vote and a House Ethics Committee investigation. That report alleged he used campaign funds for personal expenses.

“I think it’s helpful that he was held accountable because people trusted him and he literally stole Covid funds and was dishonest about things to win a campaign running for office, and if our leaders can’t be honest then how do they expect us to be honest? I think it’s hypocritical and he should be held accountable for his actions,” NHS Mathematics teacher Debbie Holt said.

Santos has not yet made any restitution payments but stated that he is attempting to do so.