Former US Representative George Santos was sentenced on Friday to more than seven years in prison for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, marking a dramatic downfall for the disgraced New York politician once described as a "pathological liar and fraudster" by prosecutors. Santos, who faced charges filed in May 2023, initially refused to resign from Congress, backed by several House Republicans. However, after a year of mounting allegations and controversies, he was expelled from the House of Representatives, becoming the first member ousted without a criminal conviction since the US Civil War. In August 2024, Santos pleaded guilty to two felony charges, admitting that he had misused his campaign fundraising apparatus for personal enrichment. He confessed to submitting false financial reports to the Federal Election Commission during his congressional campaign. Santos also admitted to stealing the personal and financial information of elderly and cognitively impaired donors, subsequently using their credit cards to make unauthorized donations to his campaign. Moreover, Santos acknowledged soliciting contributions under the pretense of funding a social welfare organization or political action committee. Instead, he used the funds to finance stays at luxury hotels, purchase designer clothing, pay off personal credit card debts, and gift himself thousands of dollars in cash. During court proceedings, federal prosecutors described Santos as a serial deceiver, labeling him a "pathological liar and fraudster." — Agencies
