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Former Rep. George Santos posted a theatrical farewell on social media Thursday evening, simply hours earlier than he was to start serving a federal jail sentence for fraud and id theft.
“Properly, darlings… The curtain falls, the highlight dims, and the rhinestones are packed,” Santos wrote on X.
“From the halls of Congress to the chaos of cable information what a trip it’s been! Was it messy? All the time. Glamorous? Sometimes. Sincere? I attempted… most days. To my supporters: You made this wild political cabaret value it. To my critics: Thanks for the free press.”
The previous New York congressman is anticipated to report back to federal custody Friday to start serving an 87-month sentence, simply over seven years, after pleading responsible in 2024 to wire fraud and aggravated id theft.
Santos was assessed the utmost sentence in April by U.S. District Decide Joanna Seybert. He was additionally ordered to pay practically $374,000 in restitution and forfeit greater than $205,000 in fraud proceeds.
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Santos is one in every of solely six members of the Home of Representatives in historical past to have been expelled. (AP Photograph/Alex Brandon)
His responsible plea adopted a sweeping investigation into marketing campaign finance fraud, donor id theft and false COVID-era unemployment claims.
“This prosecution speaks to the reality that my workplace is dedicated to aggressively rooting out public corruption,” stated U.S. Lawyer John J. Durham, who known as the sentence “judgment day” for Santos and justice for his victims. Nassau County District Lawyer Anne T. Donnelly stated Santos “traded in his integrity for designer garments and a luxurious way of life.”
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Former U.S. Rep. George Santos arrives at court docket in Central Islip, N.Y., Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Photograph/Stefan Jeremiah)
Prosecutors shared how Santos and his marketing campaign treasurer, Nancy Marks, doctored donor studies to qualify for nationwide Republican celebration funding. They fabricated contributions from Santos’ household and falsely reported a $500,000 mortgage from Santos, although he had below $8,000 in his accounts.
He additionally stole bank card data from donors, together with “victims he knew had been aged individuals affected by cognitive impairment or decline” and made unauthorized costs to fund each marketing campaign and private bills, in response to the DOJ. Santos additionally used a pretend political fundraising firm to solicit tens of 1000’s of {dollars} which he spent on “designer clothes.”
Throughout the pandemic, Santos fraudulently claimed over $24,000 in unemployment advantages whereas employed at an funding agency. He additionally submitted false congressional monetary disclosures to the Home.
Based on the DOJ, Santos purposefully focused aged individuals with “cognitive impairment or decline” in id theft schemes. (Annabelle Gordon/Bloomberg by way of Getty Photos)
Santos was elected in 2022 after flipping New York’s third District for the GOP. His résumé was simply debunked. He falsely claimed tutorial levels, Wall Avenue jobs and household ties to the Holocaust and 9/11.
He was expelled from Congress in December 2023 after a scathing ethics report, turning into simply the sixth member ever faraway from the Folks’s Home.
Santos has remained publicly lively after his sentencing, promoting video messages on Cameo and making social media posts.
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His tweet concluded, “I could also be leaving the stage (for now), however belief me legends by no means actually exit.”
Until pardoned, Santos is anticipated to stay incarcerated till at the least early 2032. He has reportedly appealed to President Donald Trump for clemency.
The White Home and Santos didn’t instantly reply to Fox Information Digital’s request for remark.
