George Santos case: Prosecution seeks 87-month prison sentence for former congressman

The U.S. Department of Justice urged a federal judge to sentence disgraced former Rep. George Santos to 87 months in prison, according to court papers filed on Friday in the Eastern District of New York.

In a 26-page sentencing memo, the prosecutors said a "substantial deterrent" is required to prevent Santos, who pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in August, from deceiving and defrauding people in the future. U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert is scheduled to sentence Santos in Central Islip on April 25.

"Santos is a pathological liar and fraudster," prosecutors said in their sentencing memo to Seybert. "For years, Santos manufactured and promoted a fictionalized biography, one that depicted himself as a highly educated, independently wealthy businessman, all premised on a heap of lies."

Santos’ attorneys, meanwhile, asked Seybert to sentence Santos to 24 months in prison in a sentencing memo filed later on Friday, saying the former lawmaker has expressed genuine remorse for his actions.

"A sentence of 24 months, followed by a term of probation, would serve several purposes," Santos' lawyers wrote. "It would reflect the seriousness of Mrs. Santos’ offenses while acknowledging his acceptance of responsibility and the significant collateral consequences he has already suffered."

Santos admitted last year that he duped voters, deceived donors and stole the identities of nearly a dozen people, including his own family members, to make donations to his congressional campaign.

Santos agreed to pay nearly $375,000 in restitution and $205,000 in forfeiture. He faces a mandatory minimum 2-year sentence and up to 22 years in prison when he returns to Seybert’s court later this month.

Santos’ attorney, Andrew Mancilla, did not immediately return a request for comment.

Santos, a Republican, was elected to Congress in 2022, representing a district that included parts of Nassau County and Queens. He lasted about a year in the House of Representatives after media reports debunked much of his life story, including claims that he had worked for top Wall Street firms and had a college degree. Santos was expelled from Congress in December 2023. He was only the sixth member of the House to be expelled; the other five were members of the confederacy.

Prosecutors said Santos submitted false reports to the Federal Election Commission during the 2022 election cycle, along with his treasurer Nancy Marks, inflating the campaign’s fundraising in order to qualify for a fund-matching program administered by the national party committee. Santos and Marks falsely claimed on forms that 11 of their family members had contributed to Santos’ campaign. Santos also falsely claimed that he had lent his campaign $500,000 when he had less than $8,000 in his personal and business bank accounts.

Prosecutors also said Santos charged his campaign contributors’ credit cards repeatedly without their authorization between July 2020 and October 2022. Santos also received more than $24,000 in unemployment benefits from New York State even though he was employed during that time, prosecutors said. And Santos also made several false statements on his House of Representatives financial disclosure statement, vastly overstating his income and assets, prosecutors said.

In March, Seybert sentenced Santos’ former fundraiser Samuel Miele to a year and a day in prison. Miele, 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.

Marks is scheduled to be sentenced on May 8. Marks pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to defraud the United States, prosecutors have said.