George Santos is ‘unrepentant’ as he faces years in prison for fraud, prosecutors say
By PHILIP MARCELO NEW YORK AP Disgraced former U S Rep George Santos remains unrepentant as he faces years in federal prison for fraud and identity theft federal prosecutors say citing a tirade of his social media posts in fresh days Related Articles Can the IRS revoke Harvard s tax-exempt status Trump authorities defiance over Abrego Garcia s deportation is shocking appeals court says Supreme Court keeps hold on Trump s restrictions on birthright citizenship but sets May arguments Federal judge will hear arguments as groups try to block Trump s executive order on elections Trump says he s in no rush to end tariffs as he holds talks with Italy s Meloni Prosecutors in a legal filing Thursday bolstered their arguments for a stiff sentence saying the -year-old New York Republican has disparaged the U S Department of Justice as a cabal of pedophiles and cast himself as a victim of prosecutorial overreach in multiple posts on the social platform X This conduct is antithetical to the genuine remorse claimed by Santos s attorneys prosecutors wrote His actions speak louder than any words and they cry out for a key carceral sentence in this development Lawyers for Santos didn t directly respond to an email seeking comment The social media blitz started April after prosecutors and Santos lawyers submitted their sentencing memos to a judge for consideration during his April sentencing in Long Island federal court No matter how hard the DOJ comes for me they are mad because they will NEVER break my spirit Santos wrote in one post In another exchange on X he denied using campaign contributions to buy luxury goods from Herm s which prosecutors note is conduct specifically mentioned in court documents Even at this late stage he exclusively refuses to fully own up to his actions they wrote in their Thursday filing which included screenshots of the social media posts Prosecutors are seeking a seven year prison sentence for Santos saying his unparalleled crimes had made a mockery of the country s electoral process system They ve also suggested he has a high likelihood of reoffending given he has not forfeited any of his ill-gotten gains or repaid any of the casualties Santos lawyers meanwhile have sought a two-year prison term which is the mandatory minimum sentence for aggravated identity theft The lawyers argue that Santos has no prior criminal record and that such a sentence is in line with those handed to former U S Rep Jesse Jackson Jr and other political figures who faced similar financial crimes Santos admitted in August that he duped voters deceived donors and stole the identities of nearly a dozen people including his own family members to make donations to his congressional campaign As part of the plea deal he agreed to pay nearly in restitution and in forfeiture Santos was elected in to represent parts of Queens and Long Island but served barely a year in office before he was ousted by his House colleagues the sixth ever in the chamber s history The once-rising Republican s political demise came after it was revealed that he had fabricated much of his life story leading to questions about how the political unknown had funded his winning campaign Santos cast himself as a wealthy businessman who worked at prestigious Wall Street firms and held a valuable real estate portfolio when in reality he was struggling financially and even faced eviction Follow Philip Marcelo at twitter com philmarcelo
