Federal prosecutors urge a judge that the sentence dishonored former American representative George Santos seven years and three months in prison, qualifying his conduct into a “shameless network of deception” that disappointed donors, deceived voters and promoted their political ascent through lies, theft and identity fraud.
The Government described the scope of the fraudulent activity of Santos in the electoral cycles of 2020 and 2022 in a detailed memorandum of sentence presented on Friday.
The prosecutors allege Santos, 35, with the help of the former treasurer of the Nancy Marks campaign, falsified presentations of the Federal Commission of the Electoral Commission, manufacturing contributions from donors and inflating the total collection of funds to comply with the threshold of $ 250,000 required to join the program of the National Committee of the Republican Committee of the Congress (NRCC). Marks declared himself guilty and is waiting for the sentence in June.
When he was informed that he had not reached the reference point of NRCC, Santos sent a text message to an associate: “We are going to do this a little different. I have it.”
This “different” approach included presenting false donations attributed to family members, fictitious individuals and even stolen identities of elderly supporters, according to the presentation.
Representative George Santos enters the Chamber’s Republican Tranacle in El Capitol, on November 28, 2023.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
In Tandem, Santos was directing a fraudulent political consulting firm, Redstone Strategies LLC, which falsely presented it as a super pac or 501 (c) (4) without recorded profit. It was none, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors say Santos used Redstone to wash donor money, maintain commissions and finance personal expenses. In a scheme, he used the credit card of an older woman, originally provided for a unique donation, to collect $ 12,000 through the Redstone commercial account, obtaining $ 11,580 after the rates. He connected the money directly to his personal bank account.
When his commercial partner interrogated him, Santos lied, claiming that the woman, who suffers from a brain injury, was a consultant, according to the presentation. Between February and August 2022, prosecutors say Santos used their credit card repeatedly, attributing donations to her, her daughter or fictional names.
Another victim, called “Individual 2” in the presentation, charged his credit card at least five times in March 2022, totaling more than $ 30,000 in false campaign contributions, including some attributed to the uncle of Santos and the people who did not exist. These donations were strategically enrupted to other campaigns that were Redstone clients, ensuring that Santos obtained a financial bribery while increasing their political visibility.
In July 2020, he used another victim’s credit card to contribute $ 28,400 to his own campaign, some under the name of a personal friend who did not donate or give his consent, according to the presentation.
In April 2022, prosecutors say that Santos falsely reported a personal loan from $ 500,000 to his campaign, allowing him to presume a fund Q1 collection route of $ 800,000. He approved a press release that promoted the lie and released the narrative in conversations with Republican leaders, including a sitting congressman. According to the Prosecutor’s Office, the loan never existed.
That lie, combined with their managed dates presentations and a manufactured curriculum that claims NYU titles and jobs in Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, helped Santos to ensure the state of young weapons of the NRCC in June 2022. The designation provided significant support: $ 103,000 in advertising, $ 33,000 in surveys and direct contributions of the efforts of the efforts of funds of funds sets.
However, for the fall of 2022, campaign employees discovered the truth. When he faced the non -existent loan, Santos admitted that he was not real and hastened to fill the void requesting a loan of $ 450,000 of a donor called “individual 1” in the presentation. Santos connected $ 400,000 to his campaign, never informed FEC and never paid the donor. Covered the remaining $ 100,000 by improperly appropriating more funds from the same donor through Redstone.
Santos was expelled from Congress in December 2023 and declared guilty wire fraud and aggravated identity fraud.
The defense lawyers said that in their own memorandum Santos does not deserve more than two years in prison, arguing that “he accepted the total responsibility of his actions.”
“This plea is not just an admission of guilt,” Santos told journalists in August. “It is a recognition that I need to take responsibility like any other American who violates the law.”
The former congressman’s judgment is April 30.
