Disgraced former Rep. George Santos tells sentencing judge prosecutors are 'lying' 

Ex-Long Island Congressman George Santos, who is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court Friday for a series of frauds he committed as he ran for office, has taken his complaints about the federal prosecutors in his case directly to the judge.

Santo has penned a lengthy letter that accused the government of "lying" about his underlying conduct and using his recent social media comments that were critical of prosecutors "as a sword against me."

Santos, in the letter made public Monday to U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert, responded to criticism from federal prosecutors who had last week also written to the judge. They pointed out a series of social media posts by Santos, in which he criticized them, saying the posts demonstrated that Santos was "not genuinely remorseful" even after he pleaded guilty to committing wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

"I am writing this to personally express two ideas that can and do coexist: 1- I am profoundly sorry for the criminal conduct to which I pled guilty; 2- I believe, just as fervently, that the Department of Justice’s demand for an 87-month sentence, and its effort to weaponize my speech as proof of incorrigibility, is an overreach that I have both a constitutional right and a civic duty to protest," Santos wrote.

Santos, who now hosts a podcast, has asked for a 24-month prison term while prosecutors have recommended he serve 87 months.

"My posts may be colorful but they don’t justify a sentence triple the norm, and the government should be ashamed of itself for even seeking such a high sentence," Santos wrote.

Prosecutors have said that Santos inflated his campaign's financing levels in order to qualify for federal matching funds, stole money from his campaign contributors by fraudulently charging their credit cards, received more than $24,000 in unemployment benefits from New York State while he had a job and made several false statements on his Congressional financial disclosure forms.

Santos was expelled from U.S. House of Representatives after representing parts of Nassau and Queens for about 11 months. He came into the House under a cloud after The New York Times unmasked him as a serial liar.

In a separate letter to the judge, Santos’ attorneys said: "Mr. Santos has admitted his guilt, expressed remorse, apologized to those he harmed, and stated his full acceptance of the legal consequences. His recent online statements, while reflecting his distress regarding the potential length of his sentence, do not undermine his acceptance of responsibility for his crimes."

Santos also accused prosecutors of "lying" about his underlying conduct, saying they had sought a sentencing enhancement in their original recommendation to the judge by classifying him as an "organizer/leader."

"If I were the criminal mastermind they portray, I would be the clumsiest in modern memory: leaving a trail of screenshots pointing directly back to myself. Common sense, and the fact that [his co-conspirator and former campaign treasurer Nancy] Marks herself put her own family members’ names on the FEC filings before she herself signed them, would and should dispel any notion that a leadership enhancement is appropriate," Santos wrote, adding, "Please, I admit what I did, but the government is just lying at this point."

A spokesman for the prosecution did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment Monday night.

Santos also said he purposely has not asked any of his family or friends to submit character letters to the court. And that he attends weekly counseling sessions "dissecting the insecurities and narcissistic blind spots that paved the road to my misconduct," he wrote.

"There is a very real human cost to a 87-month term of imprisonment, not just to me, but to those who rely and depend on me, and that’s in addition to the destruction that has already affected me and my family," Santos wrote. "I have been expelled from Congress — the career I had worked years to build — and my public standing collapsed almost overnight. The likelihood of returning to public service — or even securing ordinary employment — has dwindled to near zero. Legal fees have consumed the resources I managed to earn these past two years, and friendships that anchored my life have disappeared under the glare of national attention." 

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.