Former US Republican congressman George Santos will spend years in prison over fraudulent schemes he ran while running for office.
On Friday District Court judge Joanna Seybert sentence him to 87 months in prison. followed by two years of supervised release.
Santos said he regretted his actions which saw him defrauding supporters of his 2022 run for congress. Santos had pleaded guilty to all charges.
“My conduct betrayed my supporters and the institutions I swore to uphold,” he said during his sentencing.
Overcome with emotion he broke down in court and tearfully asked the judge for a lenient sentence.
“I undermined the faith in the very institutions I swore to uphold,” he said. “I cannot rewrite the past but I can control the road ahead.”
The judge disagreed and imposed the maximum sentence available. His convictions include wire fraud and identity theft.
In 2022 Santos became the first member of the Republican party, who had publicly shared that they were gay before being elected, to become a congressman.
Within weeks of his election however journalist delved into his past and discovered he’d made up major details about his past employment history and education.
George Santos also was accused of falsely linking himself to major events including the terrorist attacks on 9-11 and the mass shooting at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando. Then it was discovered that he’d been misusing funds raised for his election campaign.
In late 2023 his colleagues expelled his from the chamber, and he was found guilty by a court of felony offences for identity theft and wire fraud. Santos is facing up to 22 years behind bars for his offences and and the court has already stipulated that he will also be required to pay nearly USD$375,000 in restitution to victims and forfeit an additional USD$205,000.
His sentencing was delayed for several months after he asked the court for more time to launch as new podcast which he hoped would generate the income to pay the required restitution.
