Ex-Rep. George Santos surrenders to begin 87-month prison sentence

Ex-Rep. George Santos, a Republican who was convicted of identity theft and wire fraud after his web of lies and deception was revealed, reported to prison on Friday, July 25, to begin his 87-month sentence.

“Well, darlings… The curtain falls, the spotlight dims, and the rhinestones are packed,” Santos wrote in an X post.

Santos is in custody at the Federal Correctional Institution Fairton in Fairton, N.J.

The seven-year punishment represents the combination of two consecutive sentences for the two counts he pleaded guilty to. He is also required to pay $373,000 in restitution to his victims.

He had until Friday to surrender himself into custody.

Santos bid his farewell on X hours before reporting to prison, where he thanked his supporters and critics alike through his final message.

“To my supporters: You made this wild political cabaret worth it,” Santos wrote. “To my critics: Thanks for the free press.”

Santos, who represented New York’s 3rd Congressional District on the North Shore of Nassau County and northeastern Queens, was elected in November 2022. He was expelled in December 2023 following House Ethics investigations into allegations of his unethical and illegal activities that began shortly following his election.

“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,” he wrote.

Before being expelled from Congress, Santos was indicted in May 2023 on 13 counts of wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and making materially false statements to Congress.

In October 2023, he was handed an additional 10 conspiracy charges to commit offenses against the United States, wire fraud, lying to the Federal Election Commission, falsifying records, aggravated identity theft, and device fraud.

In August 2024, Santos pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud and identity theft. In exchange for his guilty plea, the 21 other charges from his indictment were dropped.

In court, Santos admitted to falsifying campaign fund numbers to meet Federal Election Commission benchmarks and get proper funding from the Republican National Committee — something his campaign treasurer, Nancy Marks, pleaded guilty to.

He admitted to applying for unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic despite not being unemployed. He also admitted to using the names of friends and family members to do this, which is the basis for the wire fraud and identity theft charges.

Santos was handed the longest sentence available for his crimes, which the Justice Department pursued. His defense team sought a shorter sentence of two years in prison with two years of suspended release.

“I may be leaving the stage (for now), but trust me legends never truly exit,” Santos wrote.