Disgraced ex-Congressman George Santos should be sentenced to more than seven years in prison for fraud and identity theft, federal prosecutors said in Brooklyn Friday.
The former representative from Long Island — who told numerous outrageous lies about his education, work history and background during his campaign, including that his grandparents had fled the Nazis during World War II — pleaded guilty in August to one count of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft before U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert.
In copping to two of the 23 criminal counts against him, he admitted to inflating his fundraising numbers and creating fake donor names to qualify for financial support from the Republican Party while he was running for election in 2022.
Federal prosecutors recommended Santos be sentenced to 87 months in prison in a court filing Friday, stating that the length of time was necessary due to the severity of the crimes.
In May 2023 Santos was hit with federal charges for charging donors’ credit cards without their consent and laundering campaign funds to pay for his personal expenses, including Botox injections, OnlyFans subscriptions and luxury items.
Meanwhile, Santos’ lawyers have requested the mandatory minimum of 24 months.
During his campaign, Santos falsely claimed he attended New York University and had previously worked for Goldman Sachs and Citigroup.
Following his indictment and an investigation by the House Ethics Committee, his fellow lawmakers expelled Santos from the House of Representatives in December 2023, after he had served 11 months in Congress.
In their sentencing memo Santos’ lawyers said that fallen pol had taken responsibility for his crimes, which they linked to a history of mental illness, including depression and suicidal ideation.
His sentencing is scheduled for April 25.
