Disgraced former Rep. George Santos may face greater than seven years in jail if New York prosecutors get their method.
Santos, 36, who grew to become simply the sixth Home member to be expelled from the chamber and the primary Republican, pleaded responsible to federal fraud and identification theft prices in August as a part of a plea deal after having been indicted on felony prices.
The previous lawmaker stole from political donors, used marketing campaign contributions to pay for private bills, lied to Congress about his wealth and picked up unemployment advantages whereas really working.
Former U.S. Rep. George Santos arrives at court docket in Central Islip, N.Y., on Aug. 19, 2024. (AP Picture/Stefan Jeremiah)
GEORGE SANTOS ENDS CONGRESSIONAL RUN LESS THAN 2 MONTHS INTO INDEPENDENT CAMPAIGN
“Regardless of how exhausting the DOJ comes for me, they’re mad as a result of they may NEVER break my spirit,” Santos posted on X Friday within the wake of a court docket submitting by the U.S. Legal professional for the Jap District of New York.
Santos has already agreed to serve a minimal of two years in jail and was anticipated to be sentenced in February however requested the court docket to postpone sentencing till he could make sufficient cash from his podcast to pay the almost $600,000 he owes in restitution and forfeiture.
Prosecutors alleged he had raked in round $800,000 from appearances on the Cameo app, with earlier reviews suggesting he was charging $350 a pop for movies that includes his drag alter ego Kitara Ravache. Santos beforehand denied ever dressing as a drag queen or associating with drag queens.
Prosecutors argued within the submitting Friday that Santos warrants a big sentence as a result of his “unparalleled crimes” had “made a mockery” of the nation’s election system.
“From his creation of a completely fictitious biography to his callous theft of cash from aged and impaired donors, Santos’s unrestrained greed and voracious urge for food for fame enabled him to take advantage of the very system by which we choose our representatives,” the workplace wrote.
Prosecutors alleged Santos had raked in round $800,000 from appearances on the Cameo app as his former cross-dressing persona. (Joe Raedle/Getty Photographs/X @MrSantosNY)
EX-LAWMAKER GEORGE SANTOS OFFERING CAMEO VIDEOS WITH HIS DRAG QUEEN ALTER EGO
They wrote that he had been unrepentant for years and blasted investigations into his crimes as a “witch hunt.”
Additionally they stated his claims of regret after pleading responsible “ring hole” and recommended he has a “excessive probability of reoffending” given he has not forfeited any of his ill-gotten beneficial properties or repaid any of his victims.
The legal professionals keep such a sentence is consistent with these handed to former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and different political figures dealing with related monetary crimes.
Santos’ authorized staff requested for a two-year sentence in a Friday court docket submitting. His lawyer, Andrew Mancilla, stated prosecutors have been promoting a false narrative to the court docket.
“The federal government desires headlines, not justice. This vindictive 87-month demand ignores sentencing norms for related circumstances,” Mancilla stated.
The freshman lawmaker was expelled a 12 months into his first time period within the Home within the wake of a damning Home Ethics Committee report that discovered he misused marketing campaign funds on luxurious gadgets and OnlyFans, amongst different issues. He had not been convicted of a criminal offense on the time.
Disgraced former Rep. George Santos may face greater than seven years in jail if New York prosecutors get their method. (Annabelle Gordon/Bloomberg by way of Getty Photographs)
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Throughout his marketing campaign, Santos claimed that he attended New York College, that he had labored at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, and that his grandparents had fled the Nazis throughout World Battle Two. None of these claims have been true.
Santos was as soon as touted as a rising political star after he flipped the suburban district that covers the prosperous North Shore of Lengthy Island and a slice of the New York Metropolis borough of Queens in 2022.
Final 12 months he failed in an try and relaunch his political profession by working as an Impartial in a neighboring district to re-enter the Home.
Fox Information’ Stepheny Value and Anders Hagstrom in addition to The Related Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
