In his drive to seek higher office, the prosecutors’ filing said, Mr. Santos fabricated his past and engaged in deceitful schemes, including inflating his fund-raising numbers and stealing from donors. “He lied to his campaign staff, his supporters, his putative employer and congressional colleagues, and the American public,” the prosecutors wrote.
“Santos’s conduct has made a mockery of our election system,” they added.
Lawyers for Mr. Santos, Robert M. Fantone and Joseph W. Murray, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Saturday morning. In a separate filing on Friday, they asked for a sentence of two years, the minimum allowed for the crimes involved, followed by probation. Mr. Santos had acknowledged the gravity of his crimes, the filing said, and agreed to pay nearly $374,000 in restitution.
“His conduct, though involving dishonesty and abuse of trust, stemmed largely from a misguided desperation related to his political campaign, rather than inherent malice,” his lawyers wrote. The public disgrace that Mr. Santos endured and his removal from Congress meant he was unlikely to commit similar crimes in the future, they said.
Prosecutors in their filing disagreed, writing that a significant sentence was needed to deter Mr. Santos from defrauding the public. They said that the former congressman had made efforts to “leverage his lawbreaking as a springboard to celebrity and riches.” Prosecutors cited his appearance on Cameo, a video-sharing platform for celebrities, his participation in a documentary and the debut of his recent podcast, “Pants on Fire With George Santos.”
Mr. Santos erupted onto the national stage in 2022 after his election to Congress helped his party win control of the House. Young, gay and the son of Brazilian immigrants, Mr. Santos positioned himself as part of the new face of the Republican Party, and a proud supporter of Donald Trump.
