Disgraced former U.S. Rep. George Santos, who lied about his life story and defrauded donors, was sentenced Friday to over seven years in jail, sobbing as he heard his punishment.
Santos, who pleaded responsible final summer time to federal wire fraud and aggravated identification theft, appealed for mercy, telling a court docket via tears that he was “humbled” and “chastised” and realized he had betrayed his constituents’ belief.
“I supply my deepest apologies,” he mentioned, including: “I can’t rewrite the previous, however I can management the street forward.”
U.S. District Courtroom Decide Joanna Seybert evidently wasn’t satisfied.
“The place is your regret? The place do I see it?” she requested as she sentenced him to 87 months behind bars. She mentioned the previous politician appeared to really feel that “it’s all the time another person’s fault.”
The New York Republican served in Congress barely a 12 months earlier than his Home colleagues ousted him in 2023.
He admitted to deceiving donors and stealing the identities of almost a dozen individuals, together with his members of the family, to fund his successful marketing campaign. As a part of a plea deal, Santos has agreed to pay roughly $580,000 in penalties.
“From the second he declared his candidacy for Congress, Santos leveraged his marketing campaign for his personal enrichment and monetary profit,” U.S. Legal professional John Durham, whose workplace prosecuted the case, mentioned exterior court docket.
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The 36-year-old Santos is because of report back to jail July 25. He didn’t reply to reporters’ shouted questions exterior the courthouse, however he informed The Related Press on Thursday that he was resigned to his destiny.
“I’m doing in addition to any human being could be doing given the circumstances,” Santos wrote in a textual content message, including that he was “able to face the music.”
Prosecutors sought the 87-month sentence, questioning Santos’ regret in gentle of his current social media posts casting himself as a sufferer of prosecutorial overreach.
Prosecutor Ryan Harris informed the decide that a few of Santos’ victims have been “extraordinarily weak,” together with a girl with mind harm and two octogenarian males who’ve dementia. Santos has mentioned in current days that he has no intention of paying again victims promptly, Harris famous.
“Individuals consider this as a victimless crime as a result of it’s about cash. There are a lot of victims on this crime,” added New York Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon.
She addressed the court docket as a sufferer as a result of, earlier than operating for workplace, Santos collected unemployment advantages whereas truly working for a Florida firm. As soon as in Congress, he co-sponsored laws meant to root out unemployment fraud.
Santos’ legal professionals had referred to as for a two-year jail stint, the obligatory minimal sentence for aggravated identification theft.
Protection lawyer Andrew Mancilla portrayed the ex-congressman as a troubled determine cast by adversity.
Santos grew up in a “damaged home” and was subjected to bullying all through his life, the lawyer mentioned.
Consequently, “he constructed the person he wished to be, not who he was,” Mancilla mentioned. “He did that as a result of he believed that the world wouldn’t settle for him for who he was.”
“Deep down, he’s heat, variety, caring, and considerate,” Mancilla mentioned.
However, the lawyer mentioned, now “everybody hates George Santos.”
Santos was elected in 2022, flipping a rich district representing elements of Queens and Lengthy Island for the GOP.
Quickly after, it was revealed that the political unknown had fabricated a lot of his life story, portray himself as a profitable enterprise proprietor who labored at prestigious Wall Road companies and held a helpful actual property portfolio.
In actuality, Santos was struggling financially and even confronted eviction. The revelations led to congressional and legal inquiries into how he had funded his marketing campaign.
“He informed lie after lie till it caught up with him — till we caught up with him and uncovered him for what he actually was: an opportunist and a fraud,” Nassau County District Legal professional Anne Donnelly, a Republican, mentioned exterior court docket Friday. Her workplace additionally investigated Santos.
As his sentencing approached, Santos was reflective in social media posts, thanking his supporters and detractors alike.
“I discovered that irrespective of left, proper or, heart we’re all people and for probably the most half Individuals (LOL) and we now have one tremendous energy that I cherish and that’s compassion,” he wrote Thursday on the social platform X. Addressing “the trolls,” he added: “y’all made me a lot stronger and made my pores and skin thicker!”
He additionally made one closing plug for his Cameo account, the place he information personalised video messages for $100.
“Assume forward and of any celebration or occasion developing later this 12 months. Ebook them at present,” Santos wrote, ending the put up with a collection of coronary heart emojis.
Related Press author Jake Offenhartz in New York contributed to this story.
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