Disgraced former Rep. George Santos could face more than seven years in prison if New York prosecutors get their way.
Santos, 36, who became just the sixth House member to be expelled from the chamber and the first Republican, pleaded guilty to federal fraud and identity theft charges in August as part of a plea deal after having been indicted on felony charges.
The former lawmaker stole from political donors, used campaign contributions to pay for personal expenses, lied to Congress about his wealth and collected unemployment benefits while actually working.
Former U.S. Rep. George Santos arrives at court in Central Islip, N.Y., on Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)
GEORGE SANTOS ENDS CONGRESSIONAL RUN LESS THAN 2 MONTHS INTO INDEPENDENT CAMPAIGN
“No matter how hard the DOJ comes for me, they are mad because they will NEVER break my spirit,” Santos posted on X Friday in the wake of a court filing by the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
Santos has already agreed to serve a minimum of two years in prison and was expected to be sentenced in February but asked the court to postpone sentencing until he can make enough money from his podcast to pay the nearly $600,000 he owes in restitution and forfeiture.
Prosecutors alleged he had raked in around $800,000 from appearances on the Cameo app, with previous reports suggesting he was charging $350 a pop for videos featuring his drag alter ego Kitara Ravache. Santos previously denied ever dressing as a drag queen or associating with drag queens.
Prosecutors argued in the filing Friday that Santos warrants a significant sentence because his “unparalleled crimes” had “made a mockery” of the country’s election system.
“From his creation of a wholly fictitious biography to his callous theft of money from elderly and impaired donors, Santos’s unrestrained greed and voracious appetite for fame enabled him to exploit the very system by which we select our representatives,” the office wrote.
Prosecutors alleged Santos had raked in around $800,000 from appearances on the Cameo app as his former cross-dressing persona. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images/X @MrSantosNY)
EX-LAWMAKER GEORGE SANTOS OFFERING CAMEO VIDEOS WITH HIS DRAG QUEEN ALTER EGO
They wrote that he had been unrepentant for years and blasted investigations into his crimes as a “witch hunt.”
They also said his claims of remorse after pleading guilty “ring hollow” and suggested he has a “high likelihood of reoffending” given he has not forfeited any of his ill-gotten gains or repaid any of his victims.
The lawyers maintain such a sentence is in line with those handed to former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and other political figures facing similar financial crimes.
Santos’ legal team asked for a two-year sentence in a Friday court filing. His lawyer, Andrew Mancilla, said prosecutors were selling a false narrative to the court.
“The government wants headlines, not justice. This vindictive 87-month demand ignores sentencing norms for similar cases,” Mancilla said.
The freshman lawmaker was expelled a year into his first term in the House in the wake of a damning House Ethics Committee report that found he misused campaign funds on luxury items and OnlyFans, among other things. He had not been convicted of a crime at the time.
Disgraced former Rep. George Santos could face more than seven years in prison if New York prosecutors get their way. (Annabelle Gordon/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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During his campaign, Santos claimed that he attended New York University, that he had worked at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, and that his grandparents had fled the Nazis during World War Two. None of those claims were true.
Santos was once touted as a rising political star after he flipped the suburban district that covers the affluent North Shore of Long Island and a slice of the New York City borough of Queens in 2022.
Last year he failed in an attempt to relaunch his political career by running as an Independent in a neighboring district to re-enter the House.
Fox News’ Stepheny Price and Anders Hagstrom as well as The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.