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Federal prosecutors are recommending a prison sentence of over seven years for disgraced former Congressman George Santos, R-N.Y., citing his elaborate campaign fraud scheme and recent social media posts that they argue show a lack of remorse.
Santos, who was expelled from Congress in December 2023, pleaded guilty last year to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft related to a web of deceptive financial practices intended to boost his political career.
In a sentencing memo filed ahead of Friday’s hearing, prosecutors said Santos, 35, has not demonstrated genuine accountability. “The defendant remains unrepentant for his crimes,” the filing states, noting a “social media blitz” by Santos in which he appears to downplay the seriousness of his offenses and attack the Justice Department.
While Santos submitted a letter to the judge claiming he has “accepted full responsibility,” he also defended his decision to push back publicly. “True remorse isn’t mute,” he wrote. “It is aware of itself, and it speaks up when the penalty scale jumps into the absurd.”
He went further, accusing prosecutors of political overreach. “Ironically, the same political ambition that underpinned my own wrongdoing now seems to fuel the government’s overreach in this case,” Santos argued. “You’d think they might have learned something from the very person they chose to prosecute so vehemently!”
Prosecutors, however, detailed a calculated fraud carried out by Santos and his then-campaign treasurer, Nancy Marks, who has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing in June. According to court documents, the duo fabricated Federal Election Commission filings, inventing fake donors and inflating contributions to meet the $250,000 threshold needed to qualify for the National Republican Congressional Committee’s “Young Guns” program.
In one text message cited by prosecutors, Santos wrote, “We are going to do this a little differently. I got it,” after being told he hadn’t met the NRCC’s fundraising benchmark.
That “different” approach allegedly included inventing donations from fictitious individuals, using the identities of elderly supporters, and falsely attributing contributions to family members.
Santos also submitted a comparative chart in his defense, arguing that his potential punishment exceeds that of other disgraced lawmakers. He pointed to former Rep. Jesse L. Jackson Jr., who received 30 months for misusing campaign funds, and ex-Rep. Michael Grimm, who served eight months for tax fraud.
Despite these arguments, legal analysts say Santos’ actions — which spanned multiple schemes and included identity theft — make his case distinct. “This was not just misuse of funds,” said legal analyst Karen Goldsmith, “this was a systematic deception involving stolen identities and fabricated data to gain power.”
The Justice Department’s case underscores what it called “a brazen disregard for campaign finance laws”, and prosecutors have made it clear they intend to pursue the maximum sentence allowed under the guidelines.
Santos’ sentencing hearing is scheduled for Friday, and it could mark the final chapter in one of the most bizarre and scandal-ridden careers in modern U.S. politics.
