Studying Time: 4 minutes
George Santos goes to jail!
The disgraced former congressman would match proper in with so lots of immediately’s political leaders. Nevertheless, he got here in a bit too early for a prison to flourish within the federal authorities.
On Friday, April 25, the court docket handed down Santos’ sentence.
Along with spending 87 months behind bars, he should pay a whole lot of 1000’s in restitution.
Former U.S. Rep. George Santos arrives for a court docket listening to at U.S. District Court docket Japanese District of New York Lengthy Island Courthouse on August 19, 2024. (Picture Credit score: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Photos)
George Santos goes to jail!
In Could of 2023, authorities indicted George Santos on expenses together with wire fraud and id theft.
The accusations — to which he has since confessed in his allocution — have been that, amongst different issues, he merely took the cardboard numbers of his personal marketing campaign donors and spent that cash on private expenditures.
Think about donating to your native mayor’s marketing campaign after which discovering out that they accepted the donation, then reused the cardboard info to order issues for themselves.
That will be maniacal habits. It is usually unlawful!
US Representatives Lauren Boebert (R-CO), former US Consultant George Santos (R-NY), and US Consultant Ronny Jackson, (R-TX) speak with one another on March 7, 2024. (Picture Credit score: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP by way of Getty Photos)
In 2022, a bunch of New York voters inexplicably elected Santos to Congress.
He rapidly started making headlines with clownish habits and an uncommon string of provable, absurd lies — sure, even for a politician.
Even simply easy particulars about his private historical past turned out to be whole fabrications.
The concept of a recurring liar and a compulsive prison unintentionally conning their manner into Congress sounds just like the plot of a 2010-era USA drama-slash-comedy, but it surely was actual life. For a short while.
Lower than one 12 months into his first (and, allow us to hope, solely) time period in workplace, he was expelled from Congress amidst a federal investigation into his prison exercise.
U.S. Rep. George Santos (R-NY) walks into the Home Republican cloakroom on the U.S. Capitol on November 28, 2023. (Picture Credit score: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Photos)
The ‘witch hunt’ declare didn’t age effectively
In Could of 2023, Santos known as the investigation, expenses, and then-fresh indictment a “witch hunt.”
Nevertheless, somewhat over a 12 months later, he pleaded responsible to aggravated id theft and wire fraud as a part of a plea deal.
It’s outstanding and uncommon to see politicians at his degree truly face actual authorized penalties for his or her crimes.
Notably, Donald Trump’s conviction final 12 months had no impact, as too many events lacked the resolve to completely implement the regulation.
Former U.S. Rep. George Santos (R-NY) (L) sits with Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) at U.S. President Joe Biden’s State of the Union deal with throughout a joint assembly of Congress within the Home chamber on the U.S. Capitol on March 07, 2024. (Picture Credit score: Win McNamee/Getty Photos)
On Friday, April 25, the court docket sentenced Santos to 87 months in a federal jail. That comes out to over 7 years.
He additionally should pay over $370,000 in restitution. Santos additionally should forfeit sure property. His whole loss is trying extra like $580,000 with that in thoughts.
It’s price noting that he was going through a compulsory minimal of two years in jail for the id theft facet of his crimes.
In gentle of his prison exercise (and, one might assume, the deep violation of a Congressman committing these crimes), the court docket clearly felt that greater than two years was acceptable.
Rep. George Santos (R-NY) is surrounded by journalists as he leaves the U.S. Capitol after his fellow members of Congress voted to expel him from the Home of Representatives on December 01, 2023. (Picture Credit score: Drew Angerer/Getty Photos)
He has truly requested solitary confinement
Whereas Santos would slot in effectively with lots of the worst folks working issues on the federal degree immediately, he feels nice trepidation about how much less rich criminals will react to him.
There, he admitted that he has requested to spend all seven years of his sentence in solitary confinement. Apparently, he’s below the impression that he’s recognized for a robust anti-gang stance.
(Only for the document … it appears seemingly that his wire fraud expenses won’t land him at a facility that sees a lot in the way in which of gang violence. Solely time will inform, we suppose)
