Disgraced ex-Cong. George Santos' aide Samuel Miele gets prison time for fraudulently soliciting campaign donations

A federal judge Friday sentenced the fundraiser for disgraced former congressman George Santos to a year and a day in prison on Friday in Central Islip.

Samuel Miele, 28, who had admitted that he had impersonated a top aide to former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy to raise money for Santos’ campaign and his own use, had pleaded guilty to wire fraud in November 2023.

U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert told Miele before sentencing him that most of the defendants who appear in her courtroom come from broken homes and struggle with substance abuse and other mental health disorders. But Miele, she said, had a bright future ahead of him.

He was educated, raised in a loving home, does not have a history of drug and alcohol addiction and his mother and father had given him everything he wanted, she said.

"I am as shocked as your family and friends were that you committed this crime," Seybert said as the defendant’s parents, Paul and Lisa Miele, sat a few feet behind the defendant.

"It’s a terrible mistake, that’s all I can say about it," Miele replied as his mother dabbed her face with a tissue.

Miele's former boss, Santos, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in August and is scheduled for sentencing in April.

Santos has acknowledged that he stole credit card numbers, which he used to raise funds for his campaign. He also admitted he used campaign cash on clothing and other personal expenses, lied on a financial disclosure to Congress, and fraudulently collected unemployment checks.

Former Santos campaign treasurer Nancy Marks pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud in October 2023. She is expected to be sentenced in May.

Miele had originally been charged in an August 2023 indictment with four counts of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Prosecutors said he impersonated McCarthy aide Dan Meyer while soliciting funds for the Santos campaign.

Miele has also acknowledged charging more than $100,000 to donors’ credit cards without their authorization. Prosecutors have said that Miele sent some of the money to the Santos campaign and the campaigns of other candidates. He also used a portion of the funds for his personal use.

Miele’s victims included a person in their 80s who suffers from memory loss, Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Zuckerwise said.

Miele’s attorney, Kevin Marino of Chatham, New Jersey, asked Seybert to sentence Miele to home confinement, "substantial" community service, and court-ordered therapy. He told the judge that Miele had no prior criminal record and had already paid more than $109,000 in restitution. He also returned $470,000 he had received to the elderly donor, who believed he was contributing money to Republican Party causes.

"He is remorseful beyond words," Marino said.

Marino told the judge that Miele had cooperated with authorities and was willing to testify against Santos if the former lawmaker’s case had gone to trial. He said Miele was swayed by Santos’ "win at call costs" approach to politics.

Seybert and Zuckerwise both acknowledged that it is rare for a defendant to have the desire and means to pay restitution. But Zuckerwise said it was important to sentence Miele to a prison term in order to deter others from engaging in the same kind of fraud.

Zuckerwise said Miele’s conduct eroded trust in the United States’ democratic process before asking for a sentence of 12 to 18 months in prison. That sentence would be well beyond federal guidelines, which called for 27 to 33 months in prison.

"You found a way to spend the first 25 years of your life doing the right thing," Seybert told Miele. "I can’t let this go."