Former US Republican Deputy George Santos, who was expelled from Congress after a short term of scandals, should be sentenced to more than seven years in prison for fraud and identity theft, federal promoters in Brooklyn said on Friday (3).
Santos, who is the son of Brazilians, declared himself guilty in August of two of the 23 criminal charges, which he faces funds collection numbers and falsifying donors names to qualify within the Republican party to compete for a New York district during the 2022 election campaign.
Santos’ legal team requested a two-year sentence in a lawsuit on Friday. The lawyer Andrew Mancilla of the former deputy said the prosecutors were selling a false narrative to the court.
Prosecutors recommended an 87 -month sentence, saying that the penalty was appropriate to reflect the seriousness of the crimes.
“Santos planned and executed a variety of fraudulent schemes and leveraged them and a fictional life story to enrich and capture one of the highest positions of the United States government,” the prosecutors said.
“The government wants headlines, not justice. This 87 -month vengeful demand ignores the rules of judgment for similar cases,” said Santos lawyer.
Fraud and lies in the election campaign
During the election campaign, George Santos claimed that he studied at New York University, who had worked at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup and that his grandparents had fled the Nazis during World War II. None of these allegations were true.
After being discovered after a journalistic investigation, Santos stated guilty of an accusation of electronic fraud and an accusation of aggravated identity robbery before US district judge, Joanna Seybert, at an audience in August.
He apologized to his voters in comments outside the court in Central Islip, New York, after the hearing.
“I deeply regret my conduct and the damage caused and accepted full responsibility for my actions,” said Santos.
Santos was hit by federal accusations in May 2023 for washing campaign funds to pay their personal expenses, charge donor credit cards without their consent and receive unemployment benefits while he was an employee.
As part of a court agreement, Santos admitted all irregularities, although he was stated guilty of only two of the 23 accusations.
Santos spent much of his 11 months as deputy involved in scandals, marginalized by his fellow legislators and ridiculed by night TV comedians after revelations that he had lied about much of his past.
A bipartisan investigation from the US Representatives House Ethics Committee found that he spent campaign money on Botox, luxury brands such as Hermès and Onlyfans, an online platform known for sexual content.
The accusations resulted in the expulsion of George Santos from the House of Representatives in December 2023.
This content was originally published in George Santos should serve more than 7 years in prison, prosecutors say on CNN Brazil.
Source: CNN Brasil
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