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George Santos, the disgraced former representative, was sentenced to more than seven years in prison on Friday, bringing an end to an extraordinary controversy that began with a fraudulent congressional campaign.
Santos, 36, was sentenced early on Friday morning in New York. He did not respond to shouted questions as he entered the courthouse in suburban Long Island.
Shortly before being elected to the US House of Representatives in New York’s third congressional district, Santos was first accused of deceiving voters by the North Shore Leader, a local newspaper in Long Island, who accused Santos of fabricating much of his resumé.
Santos later admitted that he lied to campaign donors and stole the identities of nearly a dozen people to fund his congressional campaign.
Santos’s sentencing was not without controversy. Before his Friday court appearance, he referred to himself as a “scapegoat” on social media, in reference to prosecutors accusing him of organizing the fraudulent conspiracy.
Santos also alleged that the justice department was a “cabal of pedophiles”, in posts made to X. Prosecutors highlighted Santos’s comments in a filing after Santos’s defense team requested a two-year prison sentence.
The former representative later defended his remarks, saying he was “profoundly sorry” for his crimes but that a seven-year prison sentence was too harsh.
“Every sunrise since that plea has carried the same realization: I did this, me. I am responsible,” Santos wrote. “But saying I’m sorry doesn’t require me to sit quietly while these prosecutors try to drop an anvil on my head.”
Santos pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in August.
Prosecutors, at the time, highlighted Santos’s plea as the first time that he has “told the truth about his criminal schemes”.
“For what may seem like the first time since he started his campaign for Congress, Mr. Santos told the truth about his criminal schemes. He admitted to lying, stealing and conning people,” said the US attorney Breon Peace for the eastern district of New York in a statement.
“By pleading guilty, Mr Santos has acknowledged that he repeatedly defrauded federal and state government institutions as well as his own family, supporters and constituents. His flagrant and disgraceful conduct has been exposed and will be punished. Mr Santos’s conviction demonstrates this office’s enduring commitment to rooting out corruption and grift by public officials.”
At the time, Santos faced a maximum sentence of 22 years in prison.
As part of the plea agreement, Santos was forced to pay a restitution of $373,749.97 and forfeiture of $205,002.97.
