CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. — George Santos, the former Republican congressman whose dizzying rise and spectacular fall captivated the nation, was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison on April 25. The New York politician, once a brash newcomer who flipped a Long Island district, admitted to a sprawling web of fraud that unraveled his career and landed him in a courtroom, tearful and pleading for leniency.
Santos, 36, stood before U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert in a Long Island federal court, his voice cracking as he expressed regret for betraying the voters who propelled him to Congress in 2022. He pleaded guilty last August to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, confessing to a litany of schemes that included stealing donors’ identities, faking campaign finance reports, and pocketing unemployment benefits he wasn’t entitled to. The sentence, just over seven years, marks the maximum he faced under federal guidelines, with a mandatory two-year stint for the identity theft charge.
The case began unraveling in 2023, when Santos faced a 23-count indictment accusing him of everything from money laundering to falsifying records. Prosecutors painted a damning picture: a man whose “unparalleled crimes” mocked the nation’s election system. He fabricated a glittering biography—claiming Ivy League degrees, Wall Street jobs, and a family fortune—while secretly struggling to pay rent. Santos used stolen credit card details to siphon cash from donors, including elderly supporters, and funneled campaign funds into personal splurges like designer clothes and Botox.
His guilty plea came just weeks before a trial set for September 2024, sparing him a public courtroom spectacle but cementing his downfall. As part of the deal, Santos agreed to pay $373,750 in restitution and forfeit $205,002. He was granted a delay in February sentencing to scrape together the funds, launching a podcast called “Pants on Fire” to cash in on his notoriety. Prosecutors, unimpressed, noted he’d already raked in over $800,000 from Cameo videos and a documentary since his expulsion from Congress in December 2023.
Santos’ legal team begged for a two-year sentence, arguing he’d suffered enough—booted from Congress as only the sixth House member ever expelled, humiliated in the public eye, and tethered to a sister and niece who rely on him. They pointed to his cooperation in a separate probe, where he helped nab a Texas man trying to scam him for nearly $1 million. But prosecutors hammered his lack of remorse, citing defiant social media posts where he vowed the Justice Department would “never break my spirit.”
In court, Judge Seybert didn’t mince words. “Words have consequences,” she told Santos, noting his lies fueled both his election and his ruin. She ordered him to surrender by July 25 to begin serving his term, followed by two years of supervised release.
The saga also ensnared Santos’ campaign staff. His former treasurer, Nancy Marks, pleaded guilty to fraud conspiracy in 2023 and awaits sentencing in May. Sam Miele, a fundraiser, got a year in prison in March for impersonating a congressional aide to solicit donations. Both helped inflate fundraising numbers to trick the Republican Party into backing Santos’ campaign.
Santos’ story, a bizarre blend of ambition and deceit, leaves him facing over seven years behind bars, a stark end for a man who once reveled in the spotlight.