George Santos, a former Republican congressman in New York, was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison on Friday.
His verdict would bring Mr. Santos to an end or at least pause from anonymity to the infamous turbulent periods of politics and pop culture, a national focus that he often enjoys rejection, even if negative.
Mr Santos pleaded guilty to fraud and aggravated identity theft last year. He admitted to being involved in various other deceptions, including lying to Congress, fraudulently collecting unemployment benefits and a growing number of campaign donors, donating hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Standing in front of a judge in the federal district court in central New York, Mr. Santos, 36, seems far from the crumbling lawmakers, his lies – a college volleyball star and a Wall Street financier with connections to the Holocaust and Sept. 11, to name just a few, made him the fist of the state and brought a parody of “Saturday Night Live.”
If lies were his mean rise, then Mr. Santos' financial misconduct was what led to his fall. Before any resolution in his criminal case, his House colleagues made an unprecedented decision in December 2023 to expel him from Congress without a conviction.
After a moral investigation, Mr. Santos spent campaign money on Botox, designer fashion, cosmetics and sole fans, with more than 100 Republicans joining Democrats to push him away, a legitimate party two years later, two years later, President Trump used bullies to unify his congressional Republicans in Congress behind him and possess their mean majority.
Although Mr. Trump has made extensive use of his presidential pardon, he has not shown that he can pardon Mr. Santos, who has not yet received the president's support despite his strong compliance with Trump's political sanctions. Mr. Santos lost his first bid in 2020, supported Mr. Trump’s false claims about the stolen election and wrongly said he was also a victim of voter fraud after bidding in 2020.
Two years later, Mr. Santos won the democratic-oriented area of ​​Long Island. The victory of Mr. Santos, a young Brazilian American and the first gay Republican to be elected publicly, seems to indicate a change in the party’s politics.
But Mr. Santos’ campaign is based on a series of lies that will be exposed even before he takes office. He claimed to be a descendant of the Holocaust refugees. He said his mother was in the World Trade Center during the September 11 attack. He has extensive experience with Wall Street companies, which allows him to report loans of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
His resume is false, as is the loan, one of several plans by the federal prosecutor of the Eastern District of New York, who believes Mr. Santos used to enrich himself and his campaign while running for office.
Prosecutors said in their 2023 indictment that Mr. Santos stole his campaign account from donors, used his campaign account for personal purchases, exaggerated his fundraiser count, lied to his wealth, lied to Congress documents and committed unemployment fraud.
Entering Friday's hearing, federal prosecutors demanded that Mr. Santos be sentenced to 87 months in prison and believed he would take a lot of time to reflect “the seriousness of his unparalleled crime” and “protect the public from being deceived.”
They also criticized him for his mean social media posts showing that he had little regrets about his actions and used his infamy to make money and build brands from his crimes.
Mr. Santos started recording personalized videos on App Came almost immediately after being fired by his peers in Congress, which tripled his Congress salary. In recent days, he has used his verdict by cutting prices, as it may have been his “on the cameo last week.” He also started a podcast last year under pressure to repay the victims and fund his defenses, the blink of an eye last year, titled “pant on in on in on in on in on in on in on in in on in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in of to”.
Mr Santos' attorney was sentenced to two years in prison and was subsequently suspended, saying the former MP admitted the gravity of his crimes and was committed to paying nearly $375,000 in damages.
Mr. Santos's guilt is true. On social media, he issued the Justice Department for politically motivated prosecution and denied abuse of campaign funds, a direct contradiction to the statements he made during his plea.
But this week, he told the New York Times that he would not ask for a pardon because he needed “responsibility and responsibility.”
Nevertheless, those who knew Mr. Santos did not believe his penis.
“I won't believe it in his mouth,” said Peter Hamilton. He became friendly with Mr. Santos about a decade ago. At that time, Mr. Hamilton lent to Mr. Santos (then known as Anthony Devolder) and paid several thousand dollars on the apartment.
Shortly thereafter, Mr. Santos began to avoid his phone. Although Mr. Hamilton pushed for years, even obtained orders from the small claims court, he was not repaid until Mr. Santos was publicly watched.
“He sold out public trust and won a house seat by becoming a liar,” Hamilton said, adding that even a seven-year prison sentence was “too little.”
