Disgraced Former Congressman George Santos was sentenced on Friday to 87 months in prison, the maximum sentence contemplated in the case investigating him for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Santos had pleaded guilty to the charges and told press this week he expected to get the sentence requested by prosecutors. "Right now, my expectation is I'm going to prison for 87 months," Santos told The New York Times on Wednesday, adding that he is "totally resigned." "I came to this world alone. I will deal with it alone, and I will go out alone," he added.
In an interview with former Rep. Matt Gaetz on OANN on Thursday, Santos said that while he takes "full responsibility for bad actions I've made," "you don't see some pretty bad people get that long" of a sentence. Asked what sentence he would consider fair, he said: "I don't know what would be fair, but I know seven years is pretty, pretty out there, in my opinion."
The Associated Press detailed that Santos pleaded for mercy before learning his fate, telling the court that he was "humbled" and "chastised." He added that he was aware he had betrayed his constituents' trust. "I cannot rewrite the past, but I can control the road ahead," he said.
The judge, however, wasn't convinced. "Where is your remorse? Where do I see it? said Judge Joanna Seybert. She added that Santos appeared to feel that "it's always someone else's fault."
When requesting Santos get 87 months in prison, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York said the requested sentence reflects the serious nature of Santos's "unparalleled" crimes in a court filing earlier this month.
"Santos planned and executed an assortment of fraudulent schemes and leveraged them and a fictitious life story to enrich himself and capture one of the highest offices in the government of the United States," DOJ attorneys wrote, according to court documents.
Prosecutors also argued that Santos had been "unrepentant and defiant" for years, dismissing the prosecution as a "witch hunt" and refusing to resign from Congress as his web of lies was debunked. They said his claims of remorse after pleading guilty "ring hollow" and suggested he has a "high likelihood of reoffending" given he has not forfeited any of his ill-gotten gains or repaid any of his victims. Santos was expelled from the House last August, being one of the few elected officials to face that fate.
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