Former New York Rep. George Santos is facing an 87-month prison sentence for his part in a fraud scheme.
The Justice Department detailed its case against Santos in a 26-page letter to United States District Judge Joanna Seybert. Eastern District of New York U.S. Attorney John J. Durham, who was appointed by the Trump administration, submitted the letter.
Durham is following up on an investigation spearheaded by Biden administration EDNY attorney Breon Peace, who saw Santos plead guilty to several charges, including wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in August 2024.
The government’s sentencing recommendation is on the lower end of the maximum 22 years Santos could have faced for the charges, with a minimum being 2 years.
“The need for Santos’s sentence to provide adequate deterrence is self-evident,” the letter says. “Santos has repeatedly demonstrated his inability to exert self-control or otherwise be meaningfully deterred from engaging in repeated fraud and deception. As outlined above, Santos has lied, deceived, and defrauded for years. He has stolen from the very people who trusted him and sought to help him the most.”
Santos reacted to the DOJ’s letter on Friday night. “No matter how hard the DOJ comes for me, they are mad because they will NEVER break my spirit,” he posted on X. He recently appeared on Fox News’ Gutfeld!
The government continued blasting Santos as a “pathological liar” in the document, later recommending that a “significant prison sentence is also needed to protect the public from being
defrauded by Santos again.”
“Santos is a pathological liar and fraudster. For years, Santos manufactured and promoted a fictionalized biography, one that depicted himself as a highly educated, independently wealthy, successful businessman, all premised on a heap of lies,” the letter reads.
TRACKING WHAT DOGE IS DOING ACROSS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Santos will be sentenced on April 25, ending a yearslong saga that resulted in his ejection from Congress after less than a year in New York’s 3rd Congressional District. Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) won the special election for his seat.
Santos’ lawyers asked for the minimum sentence of two years with added probation in a separate Friday filing. He’s already agreed to pay back $374,000 in restitution. “His conduct, though involving dishonesty and abuse of trust, stemmed largely from a misguided desperation related to his political campaign, rather than inherent malice,” his lawyers wrote.