Former New York Republican Rep. George Santos was sentenced to more than seven years in prison on Friday for wire fraud and identity theft.
The controversial 36-year-old former lawmaker was ousted from Congress in 2023 after he was indicted for the crimes. He pleaded guilty to federal fraud and identity theft charges in August as part of a plea deal. He confessed to defrauding donors and stealing the identities of several people to fund his campaign, NBC News reported.
US District Judge Joanna Seybert ordered Santos to pay over $373,000 in restitution to his victims.
Prosecutors had urged Seybert to throw the book at Santos, the disgraced former Republican congressman, to "reflect the seriousness of Santos’s unparalleled crimes."
"From his creation of a wholly fictitious biography to his callous theft of money from elderly and impaired donors, Santos’s unrestrained greed and voracious appetite for fame enabled him to exploit the very system by which we select our representatives," prosecutors said in a sentencing memorandum, in which they asked Seybert to sentence him to 87 months in prison.
🚨BREAKING NEWS🚨
— Breanna Morello (@BreannaMorello) April 25, 2025
Former Congressman George Santos was sentenced to over 7 years in federal court for wire fraud and identity theft case.
In August, George Santos admitted guilt to federal fraud and identity theft charges under a plea agreement.
He confessed to misleading… pic.twitter.com/F5tMbva0cM
Prosecutors claimed Santos is “a pathological liar” who does not regret his actions. They cited his weekly podcasts, titled “Pants on Fire with George Santos,” as “a perfect crystallization of his lack of genuine contrition and his tone-dead efforts to continue turning lies into dollars.”
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In one episode, Santos was asked whether he planned to ask President Donald Trump to pardon him. “You bet your sweet a** I would,” he replied. However, he indicated in an interview that he has not yet reached out to the president. "If he feels like I'm worthy of a commutation or of clemency or whatever the case is, he can make that decision," he noted, according to NBC News.
🇺🇸 HAPPENING NOW:
— Diligent Denizen 🇺🇸 (@DiligentDenizen) April 25, 2025
George Santos just sentenced to 7 years in prison for a federal campaign finance fraud case.
President Trump JUST pardoned Michele Fiore for the same charges.
Regardless of how you feel about George, he has been INSTRUMENTAL in helping us all to understand how… pic.twitter.com/5Ik5Tdj6JM
Santos came under fire after it was revealed that he defrauded campaign donors by using the funds for personal expenses like luxury clothing and credit card payments. He falsely obtained unemployment benefits while he was employed and lied to Congress about his finances.
The former lawmaker concocted a scheme in which he inflated campaign fundraising numbers with fake loans and contributions. These included a fabricated $500,000 loan even though he only had less than $8,000 in his account. This was aimed at getting support from the Republican Party.
Santos also admitted to stealing donors’ identities to make unauthorized credit card purchases totaling over $44,000. He acknowledged falsifying Federal Election Commission reports and embezzling campaign funds.
Santos was the sixth member of Congress to be ousted for his misconduct.
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