Santos, who pleaded guilty last summer to federal wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, appealed for mercy. In a federal court a short drive from his old congressional district, he said through tears that he was “humbled” and “chastised” and realised he had betrayed his constituents’ trust.
“I offer my deepest apologies,” he said, adding: “I cannot rewrite the past, but I can control the road ahead.”
US District Court Judge Joanna Seybert evidently wasn’t convinced.
“Where is your remorse? Where do I see it?” she asked as she sentenced him to 87 months behind bars. “It’s always someone else’s fault.”
The New York Republican served in Congress less than a year before becoming just the sixth member of the House to be ousted by colleagues.
Santos admitted to deceiving donors and stealing the identities of nearly a dozen people, including his family members, to fund his winning campaign. His plea deal included agreeing to pay roughly $900,000 ($US580,000) in penalties.
“From the moment he declared his candidacy for Congress, Santos leveraged his campaign for his own enrichment and financial benefit,” US Attorney John Durham, whose office prosecuted the case, said outside court.
Santos, 36, is due to report to prison on July 25.
He didn’t respond to reporters’ shouted questions outside the courthouse, but he had told The Associated Press by text on Thursday that he was “ready to face the music.”
Santos’ victims included a woman with brain damage and two octogenarian men, prosecutor Ryan Harris told the judge.
Defence lawyer Andrew Mancilla had asked the judge for a sentence of two years, portraying Santos as a troubled figure who grew up in a “broken house” and was subjected to bullying throughout his life.
As a result, “he built the man he wanted to be, not who he was,” Mancilla said. “He did that because he believed that the world would not accept him for who he was.”
“Deep down, he is warm, kind, caring, and thoughtful,” Mancilla said.
But, the lawyer said, now “everyone hates George Santos.”
Santos was elected in 2022, flipping a wealthy district representing parts of Queens and Long Island for the GOP.
Soon after, it was revealed that the political unknown had fabricated much of his life story, painting himself as a successful business owner who worked at prestigious Wall Street firms and held a valuable real estate portfolio.
In reality, Santos was struggling financially and even faced eviction.
He falsely claimed to have been a volleyball star at a college he never even attended.
He had referred to himself during the campaign as “a proud American Jew,” but later acknowledged that he was Catholic and insisted he’d only said he was “Jew-ish” after learning that his maternal family had a Jewish background.
Reporters uncovered that Santos had been accused in Brazil of using stolen cheques to buy clothing, and that he had once been charged in Pennsylvania with using bad cheques to buy puppies from dog breeders.
The revelations led to congressional and criminal inquiries into how he had funded his campaign.
“He told lie after lie until it caught up with him â until we caught up with him and exposed him for what he truly was: an opportunist and a fraud,” Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly, a Republican, said outside court. Her office also investigated Santos.
Before winning office, Santos collected unemployment benefits from New York state while actually working for a Florida company. Once in Congress, he cosponsored legislation intended to root out unemployment fraud.
As his sentencing approached, Santos was reflective and apologetic in social media posts, but at other times seemed to relish his notoriety.
He launched a podcast called “Pants on Fire with George Santos,” and earned hundreds of thousands of dollars selling cheerful, personalised video messages on Cameo.
He also leaned into his longtime support of President Donald Trump, praising the new administration while also saying that he wouldn’t consider asking for clemency.
As his sentencing approached, Santos made one final plug for his Cameo account.
“Think ahead and of any celebration or event coming up later this year. Book them today,” Santos wrote, ending the post with a series of heart emojis.
