Expelled ex-congressman George Santos to begin serving prison sentence
- - Expelled ex-congressman George Santos to begin serving prison sentence
Sarah D. Wire, USA TODAY July 25, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Former U.S. Rep. George Santos, a Republican from New York, is expected to surrender to federal custody July 25 to begin serving a prison term after a wire fraud and identity theft conviction.
In April, Santos was sentenced to seven years and three months in prison. Santos was also ordered to pay more than $370,000 in restitution and forfeit another $200,000.
"Well, darlings… The curtain falls, the spotlight dims, and the rhinestones are packed. From the halls of Congress to the chaos of cable news what a ride it’s been! Was it messy? Always. Glamorous? Occasionally. Honest? I tried… most days," Santos wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"To my supporters: You made this wild political cabaret worth it," he wrote. "To my critics: Thanks for the free press. I may be leaving the stage (for now), but trust me legends never truly exit."
Santos came to Washington as a larger than life character who some in the GOP pointed to as the future of the Republican party. He basked in the new found notoriety even after news reports began unraveling the majority of the life story he used to win votes.
Santos described himself as a successful business owner with experience at prestigious Wall Street firms. In reality, he was struggling financially and never worked for most of the firms he claimed ties to.
He claimed to have been a volleyball star at, and had multiple degrees from, a college he never attended and referred to himself as “a proud American Jew” before insisting he meant that he was “Jew-ish” because his Brazilian mother’s family had a Jewish background. The misinformation led to congressional and criminal investigations into how he had funded his campaign.
George Santos, who was expelled from the U.S. House of Representatives, departs after the sentencing in his criminal corruption charges at Central Islip Federal Courthouse in Central Islip, New York, U.S., April 25, 2025.
Santos pleaded guilty in August 2024 to felony wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges. As part of the plea, he admitted to filing false campaign finance reports, charging donors’ credit cards without authorization and fraudulently receiving unemployment benefits, among other acts that began years before he ran for Congress.
A House ethics investigation found he had "sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit."
Santos represented parts of Queens and Long Island for 11 months.
He was expelled from Congress in a bipartisan vote following the release of the House Ethics report.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Expelled ex-congressman George Santos to begin prison sentence
Source: “AOL General News”
