Former US Republican and New York congressman George Santos in 2022. Photo: WADE VANDERVORT / AFP
By Brynn Gingras and Shania Shelton, CNN
Disgraced former Republican George Santos has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison for aggravated identity theft and wire fraud charges stemming from fraudulent activity during his 2022 midterm campaign.
The judge ruled he must surrender by 25 July.
Santos was sobbing in the courtroom on Friday (local time) and said he "betrayed the confidence entrusted in me", while giving a brief statement to the judge.
"I cannot rewrite the past, but I can control the road ahead. I have tried my best," Santos said.
New York State Department of Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon spoke out against Santos at the sentencing regarding unemployment benefits he took out during Covid-19, saying he had "callous disregard for New Yorkers" and "his crimes were not victimless".
US District Judge Joanna Seybert also said she received one letter from someone in Santos' former district who was "outraged" about the fraud he committed on the voting public.
Santos' defence asked for the minimum two-year sentence, saying in court that Santos is a 36-year-old gay man from a broken home and "built an alter ego that he showed the world".
Prosecutors outlined how he stole money, stole identities and spent money on vacations and designer clothes in their arguments on why the former congressman deserved the full 87-month sentence.
"He rose to one of the highest offices in the land on a wave of lies," Assistant US Attorney Ryan Harris said.
He said Santos not only lied but it was the "extravagance along the way with his lies".
Seybert pointed out Santos was making money from social media appearances, a documentary and podcasts, and she found it "incredible" that he didn't open up a savings account to pay back restitution and that he kept up with the lies and continued to blame the government.
The sentencing marks a downfall for the former New York congressman who pleaded guilty in August.
At the time, he was also ordered to pay restitution of US$373,000 (NZ$626,000) as part of an agreement.
The Justice Department sought a more than seven-year prison sentence for Santos, while he asked the court for the minimum of two years.
Santos, who represented parts of Long Island and Queens during his brief and scandal-plagued tenure in Congress, was expelled from the House in late 2023 after the House Ethics Committee released a report of additional "uncharged and unlawful conduct" by Santos.
Beyond the report, he had sparked shock and controversy on Capitol Hill over revelations he fabricated large parts of his life story and was also facing nearly two dozen federal charges, including allegations of fraud related to the Covid-19 unemployment benefits, misusing campaign funds and lying about his personal finances on House disclosure reports.
The embattled former lawmaker survived previous attempts to remove him from office and originally pleaded not guilty to the charges in 2023.
He attempted to run in another New York district as an independent last year before ending his congressional bid after roughly a month.
Santos later pleaded guilty just weeks before he was set to stand trial on the federal charges.
- CNN
