George Santos Sobs into His Hands as Judge Reads Harsh Prison Sentence, Calls Him 'Arrogant Fraudster'

• Disgraced former Rep. George Santos sobbed as a judge sentenced him to 87 months in jail on Friday, April 25
• While handing down the sentence, U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert called Santos “an arrogant fraudster talking out of both sides of his mouth”
• Santos pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in August 2024, after admitting that he had lied about his background and committed identity theft in order to bolster his political career

Disgraced former New York Rep. George Santos had an emotional reaction as his lengthy prison sentence was handed down on Friday, April 25.

A New York Times reporter inside the Long Island courtroom shared that Santos “covered his face and was sobbing” as U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert sentenced him to 87 months in prison for his “flagrant thievery.”

Santos wrote a letter to Seybert in the days leading up to his sentencing, aiming to assure her that he was “profoundly sorry” for his crimes and arguing that an 87-month sentence would be overly harsh.

“Every sunrise since that plea has carried the same realization: I did this, me. I am responsible,” he wrote. “But saying I’m sorry doesn’t require me to sit quietly while these prosecutors try to drop an anvil on my head.”

However, his pleas did little to move Seybert, who described the former congressman as “an arrogant fraudster talking out of both sides of his mouth.”

Santos pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft on Aug. 19, 2024, admitting that he had lied about his background and committed identity theft in order to bolster his political campaign. 

Only a year after flipping a congressional seat red in the 2022 midterm elections, he was ousted from the House of Representatives in December 2023, becoming just the sixth congressperson ever expelled in the chamber’s history.

Following his sentencing, Santos remained emotional as he told the court, “I betrayed the confidence entrusted to me by constituents, donors, colleagues and this court.”

He was ordered to report to prison by July 25 and must also pay $373,000 in restitution.

In a Justice Department filing from April 17, U.S. Attorney John J. Durham asked for a lengthy sentence for Santos, arguing that his “unrepentant” social media posts about his legal issues proved that he deserves a “significant carceral sentence.”

“Put plainly, Santos is not genuinely remorseful, despite accepting responsibility as part of his allocution,” Durham wrote. “If he were, his actions would be different. At a minimum, one would expect Santos to approach sentencing with a modicum of restraint so as not to undermine the attorneys who have advocated for leniency on his behalf.”

“Instead, however, Santos has reverted to form and approaches sentencing with belligerence and an insatiable appetite for ‘likes,’ blaming his situation on everyone except himself,” the federal prosecutor added in his blistering note to the court. 

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In a previous filing, attorneys argued that Santos had “made a mockery” of the U.S. election system.

“From his creation of a wholly fictitious biography to his callous theft of money from elderly and impaired donors, Santos’s unrestrained greed and voracious appetite for fame enabled him to exploit the very system by which we select our representatives,” they wrote.

Following the end of his congressional career, Santos launched a podcast, Pants on Fire, and sought commissions on Cameo and OnlyFans in order to pay legal fees and fines.