Disgraced Rep. George Santos surrendered himself into custody to start his 87-month jail sentence for wire fraud and id theft.
AP Photograph/Seth Wenig
Ex-Rep. George Santos, a Republican who was convicted of id theft and wire fraud after his internet of lies and deception was revealed, reported to jail on Friday, July 25, to start his 87-month sentence.
“Well, darlings… The curtain falls, the spotlight dims, and the rhinestones are packed,” Santos wrote in an X submit.
Santos is in custody on the Federal Correctional Establishment Fairton in Fairton, N.J.
The seven-year punishment represents the mix of two consecutive sentences for the 2 counts he pleaded responsible to. He’s additionally required to pay $373,000 in restitution to his victims.
He had till Friday to give up himself into custody.
Santos bid his farewell on X hours earlier than reporting to jail, the place he thanked his supporters and critics alike by means of his last message.
“To my supporters: You made this wild political cabaret worth it,” Santos wrote. “To my critics: Thanks for the free press.”
Santos, who represented New York’s third Congressional District on the North Shore of Nassau County and northeastern Queens, was elected in November 2022. He was expelled in December 2023 following Home Ethics investigations into allegations of his unethical and unlawful actions that started shortly following his election.
Earlier than being expelled from Congress, Santos was indicted in Could 2023 on 13 counts of wire fraud, cash laundering, theft of public funds and making materially false statements to Congress.
In October 2023, he was handed a further 10 conspiracy fees to commit offenses in opposition to america, wire fraud, mendacity to the Federal Election Fee, falsifying data, aggravated id theft, and machine fraud.
In August 2024, Santos pleaded responsible to 2 counts of wire fraud and id theft. In change for his responsible plea, the 21 different fees from his indictment had been dropped.
In courtroom, Santos admitted to falsifying marketing campaign fund numbers to fulfill Federal Election Fee benchmarks and get correct funding from the Republican Nationwide Committee — one thing his marketing campaign treasurer, Nancy Marks, pleaded responsible to.
He admitted to making use of for unemployment advantages in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic regardless of not being unemployed. He additionally admitted to utilizing the names of family and friends members to do that, which is the premise for the wire fraud and id theft fees.
Santos was handed the longest sentence out there for his crimes, which the Justice Division pursued. His protection crew sought a shorter sentence of two years in jail with two years of suspended launch.
“I may be leaving the stage (for now), but trust me legends never truly exit,” Santos wrote.
