CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) — Disgraced former U.S. Rep. George Santos was sentenced Friday to over seven years in jail, sobbing as he discovered his punishment for the crimes that led to his expulsion from Congress.
Santos, who pleaded responsible final summer season to federal wire fraud and aggravated id theft, appealed for mercy. In a federal courtroom a brief drive from his outdated congressional district, he stated by tears that he was “humbled” and “chastised” and realized he had betrayed his constituents’ belief.
“I offer my deepest apologies,” he stated, including: “I cannot rewrite the past, but I can control the road ahead.”
U.S. District Court docket Choose Joanna Seybert evidently wasn’t satisfied.
“Where is your remorse? Where do I see it?” she requested as she sentenced him to 87 months behind bars. “It’s always someone else’s fault.”
The New York Republican served in Congress lower than a 12 months earlier than turning into simply the sixth member of the Home to be ousted by colleagues.
Santos admitted to deceiving donors and stealing the identities of almost a dozen individuals, together with his relations, to fund his successful marketing campaign. His plea deal included agreeing to pay roughly $580,000 in penalties.
“From the moment he declared his candidacy for Congress, Santos leveraged his campaign for his own enrichment and financial benefit,” U.S. Legal professional John Durham, whose workplace prosecuted the case, stated outdoors courtroom.
Santos, 36, is because of report back to jail July 25. He didn’t reply to reporters’ shouted questions outdoors the courthouse, however he had informed The Related Press by textual content Thursday that he was “ready to face the music.”
Santos’ victims included a lady with mind harm and two octogenarian males, prosecutor Ryan Harris informed the choose.
Protection lawyer Andrew Mancilla had requested the choose for a sentence of two years, portraying Santos as a troubled determine who grew up in a “broken house” and was subjected to bullying all through his life.
In consequence, “he built the man he wanted to be, not who he was,” Mancilla stated. “He did that because he believed that the world would not accept him for who he was.”
“Deep down, he is warm, kind, caring, and thoughtful,” Mancilla stated.
However, the lawyer stated, now “everyone 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 Avenue companies and held a beneficial actual property portfolio.
In actuality, Santos was struggling financially and even confronted eviction.
He falsely claimed to have been a volleyball star at a school he by no means even attended. He had referred to himself in the course of the marketing campaign as “a proud American Jew,” however later acknowledged that he was Catholic and insisted he’d solely stated he was “Jew-ish” after studying that his maternal household had a Jewish background.
Reporters uncovered that Santos had been accused in Brazil of utilizing stolen checks to purchase clothes, and that he had as soon as been charged in Pennsylvania with utilizing unhealthy checks to purchase puppies from canine breeders.
The revelations led to congressional and legal inquiries into how he had funded his marketing campaign.
“He told lie after lie until it caught up with him — until we caught up with him and exposed him for what he truly was: an opportunist and a fraud,” Nassau County District Legal professional Anne Donnelly, a Republican, stated outdoors courtroom Friday. Her workplace additionally investigated Santos.
Earlier than successful workplace, Santos collected unemployment advantages from New York state whereas truly working for a Florida firm. As soon as in Congress, he cosponsored laws supposed to root out unemployment fraud.
As his sentencing approached, Santos was reflective and apologetic in social media posts, however at different occasions appeared to relish his notoriety.
He launched a podcast known as “Pants on Fire with George Santos,” and earned a whole bunch of hundreds of {dollars} promoting cheerful, personalised video messages on Cameo.
He additionally leaned into his longtime help of President Donald Trump, praising the brand new administration whereas additionally saying that he wouldn’t think about asking for clemency.
As his sentencing approached, Santos made one remaining plug for his Cameo account.
“Think ahead and of any celebration or event coming up later this year. Book them today,” Santos wrote, ending the put up with a collection of coronary heart emojis.
Related Press writers Jennifer Peltz and Jake Offenhartz in New York contributed to this story.
