The Department of Justice is seeking an 87-month sentence for former New York Rep. George Santos after he pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft in August of last year.
The department called Santos a “pathological liar and fraudster.”
“Santos’s history and characteristics are troubling in the extreme. Santos is a pathological liar and fraudster,” the 26-page sentencing memo from the department states. “For years, Santos manufactured and promoted a fictionalized biography, one that depicted himself as a highly educated, independently wealthy, successful businessman, all premised on a heap of lies.”
Santos was elected in the 2022 midterms by flipping a Democratic district covering parts of Long Island and Queens. However, his life story was quickly found to have been mostly fabricated. His claims that he worked at top firms on Wall Street and had attended a particular college were debunked, and the financing of his campaign faced questioning.
“The government’s investigation uncovered extensive evidence of Santos’s fabricated past,” the sentencing memo states. “He falsely asserted associations with venerable institutions and organizations in a cynical effort to trade off their reputations to bolster his own.”
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