Former U.S. Rep. George Santos was sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison on Friday after he pled guilty to federal wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
According to the Associated Press, Santos, 36, was seen sobbing while being handed down his sentence, previously appealing to U.S. District Court Judge Joanna Seybert for mercy.
Santos reportedly told the court he had been “humbled” and “chastised” and admitted he had betrayed his constituents.
“I offer my deepest apologies,” Santos said, adding: “I cannot rewrite the past, but I can control the road ahead.”
Judge Seybert, however, said she did not see any feelings of remorse from Santos and quipped that “it’s always someone else’s fault.”
The former New York Republican spent less than a year in Congress he was ousted by his colleagues. Santos admitted to stealing the identities of at least 12 people, including from some of his own family members to fund his campaign.
In a plea deal, Santos agreed to pay around $580,000 in penalties, while U.S. Attorney John Durham, said outside court that Santos had used politics to enrich himself.
“From the moment he declared his candidacy for Congress, Santos leveraged his campaign for his own enrichment and financial benefit,” Durham said.
Prosecutor Ryan Harris informed the judge that Santos’ victims encompassed a woman suffering from brain damage and two elderly men in their eighties. In court, New York Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon said the crimes had impacted unemployed and struggling New Yorkers the most.
Santos reportedly collected unemployment benefits while he worked for a company in Florida before he was elected. After he became a U.S. Rep., he spearheaded legislation to find unemployment fraud.
“Do as he says, not as he does,” Reardon said of Santos.
Defense lawyer Andrew Mancilla, said Santos was warm, kind, caring, and thoughtful, and made an “alternate ego” because he allegedly grew up dealing with bullying and from a “broken house.”
“He built the man he wanted to be,” Mancilla said. “He did that because he believed that the world would not accept him for who he was.”
Santos’ reputation, Mancilla noted, has been utterly ruined, leaving him with “no chance” of finding employment. However, Mancilla acknowledged that Santos is involved in developing a documentary.
Seybert occasionally dismissed the defense lawyers’ claims that Santos was not the mastermind behind the fraud. She also refuted their comparisons to sentences from prior campaign fraud cases, such as that of former U.S. Representative Jesse Jackson Jr.
“I’m not here to decide political issues,” Seybert said. “I’m here to decide a just sentence.”
