Former U.S. Rep. George Santos faces sentencing Friday on Long Island. He pleaded guilty last August to federal wire fraud and identity theft charges, admitting he exaggerated or fabricated large parts of his backstory.
In a sentencing document filed earlier this month, prosecutors detailed how Santos lied, stole and defrauded voters and donors. They said he didn’t just pad his resume; he used “a wholly fictitious biography to enrich himself and capture one of the highest offices.”
How long does George Santos face in prison?
The U.S. Department of Justice wants Santos to serve 87 months in prison, while his lawyers are seeking just 24 months.
In another recent filing, the DOJ said he remains “unrepentant for his crimes” and pointed to various social media posts it said are “hardly an expression of ‘genuine remorse.'”
Santos wrote to the judge earlier this week asking for leniency and saying he accepts responsibility.
“This case has cost me my congressional seat, my reputation, my livelihood, and, most painful of all, the confidence of people who believed in me. 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.”
CBS News reached Santos by phone as he was driving to court Friday morning and he said he was resigned to the fact the judge could impose a stiff sentence. He said he has “no expectations” about the judge’s decision or when he will have to report to prison.
He previously told his followers he plans to request solitary confinement.
Sentencing is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. in Central Islip.
Who is George Santos and what did he do?
Santos helped Republicans secure the House of Representatives in the 2022 midterm elections, representing New York’s 3rd Congressional District which covers parts of Queens and Nassau County.
Before he was even sworn into office, his lies started to untangle.
Federal investigators filed the first charges against Santos in May 2023, followed by additional charges that October. The House Ethics Committee released a scathing 56-page report the following month, detailing the scope of his misconduct.
Santos was ousted from Congress weeks later, becoming just the sixth House member to be expelled in U.S. history.
Prosecutors: Santos “made a mockery” of election system
In the sentencing document from earlier this month, prosecutors say his conduct “made a mockery of our election system.” They say he presented false financial disclosures to Congress claiming he was a multi-millionaire and solicited a vendor to forge a Baruch College diploma.
Prosecutors say these were “intentional and bald-faced lies” of a “professional fraudster” — “a fictitious public image of a highly educated, independently wealthy businessman.”
The document references fake donations in the names of relatives, a credit card fraud scheme that stole from elderly and cognitively impaired donors to buy designer goods, and another that created a fake nonprofit to solicit donations.
It also says Santos claimed he loaned his campaign $500,000 when he had less than $10,000 to his name, and that he collected unemployment benefits while working for a firm that was later exposed as a Ponzi scheme.
As part of his plea deal, he agreed to pay more than $575,000 in restitution and forfeiture.
Read the full sentencing memo
Michael Kaplan
contributed to this report.
