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By Sophie Clark
Live News Reporter
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George Santos was sentenced Friday for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges.
Santos, who served as the representative for New York's 3rd Congressional district, faced 23 federal charges in 2024, and ended up admitting to filing false reports to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), stealing the identities of his donors to engage in credit card fraud, stealing political donations to purchase designer clothing, falsely claiming unemployment benefits, and making false statements to the House of Representatives.
Before his sentencing today, he told POLITICO: "I'm just praying [the judge is] fair."
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In court, Santos was sentenced to 87 months (over seven years) and was ordered to pay nearly $375,000 in restitution and forfeit over $200,000 in ill-gotten gains.
The disgraced congressman was a supporter of President Donald Trump, but has neither asked for nor received a pardon from the president.
President Trump has given pardons in the past to his political allies including Steve Bannon and Roger Stone.
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Timeline of George Santos Charges and Accusations
2008 - Santos is charged with stealing a checkbook and cashing a fraudulent check to purchase shoes in Brazil. He admits the charges at the time, but then disappears according to Brazilian authorities.
2010 - According to Santos, this is the year he graduates from Baruch College in New York City. However, the college has no record of his attendance. Santos also claimed to have spent time at New York University. There is no evidence for this either.
2010-approximately 2017 - Santos claims to work in asset management at Citigroup. A spokesperson for Citigroup told the New York Times the asset management division closed in 2005, and they could not find Santos on their employee roles. Santos' name also cannot be found in the files for Goldman Sachs, where he also claimed to have worked.
Around this time period, it's alleged Santos is evicted from three homes for not paying rent.
2013-2018 - Santos says he is running a charity for rescue animals "Friends of Pets United" but the charity lacks official registration or records. In 2017, he throws a fundraiser for the charity with tickets costing $50 per person, but the fundraiser organizers say they never received any of the money.
December 19, 2022 - Following his November election, the New York Times publishes a piece accusing him of fabricating his resume.
January 2, 2023 - The New York Times reports that Brazilian authorities are reopening their case against Santos regarding the alleged stolen checkbook now they can locate him.
May 10, 2023 - Federal prosecutors indict Santos on 13 counts, including wire fraud and stealing public funds.
October 10 2023 - A new indictment adds 10 more counts to Santos' existing 13, adding his charges up to 23.
December 1, 2023 - Santos becomes the sixth member of Congress in U.S. history to be expelled from the House of Representatives. Congressional investigators found he spent campaign funds on trips to the Hamptons, Hermés, casinos in Atlantic City, and Botox.
August 19, 2024 - Santos pleads guilty to several charges, admitting to many of his accused financial crimes.
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What Else?
There were other claims made surrounding Santos that cannot be corroborated by Newsweek.
For example, a Wikipedia page, which anyone can create, claimed he appeared on the Disney Channel shows Hannah Montana and The Suite Life of Zack & Cody under the pseudonym Anthony Devolder, his two middle names, but there is no evidence for him appearing in either show.
It was also claimed he said he was Jewish on his mother's side and the descendant of Holocaust survivors. A forensic genealogist told NPR that she did not see "any evidence to support it in his family tree." Analysis of his family history found his grandparents were all born in Brazil. He then said: "I never claimed to be Jewish... I am Catholic. Because I learned my maternal family had a Jewish background I said I was 'Jew-ish.'"
Santos also said his mother was in the World Trade Center on 9/11, but an investigation by NBC claimed she was actually living in Brazil at the time.
He later claimed to have lost four employees from his "company," which was left unnamed, in the Orlando Pulse nightclub shooting. This cannot be verified.
Update 4/25/25, 13:23 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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