George Santos is a former Republican congressman from New York who fabricated large portions of his life story, was expelled from the U.S. House of Representatives in December 2023, and later pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. He was sentenced to 87 months in prison in April 2025 and served fewer than three months before President Donald Trump commuted his sentence in October 2025.1The New York Times. Trump George Santos Sentence Commute
Santos, born George Anthony Devolder Santos on July 22, 1988, represented New York’s 3rd Congressional District for roughly 11 months after defeating Democrat Robert Zimmerman in November 2022 with 54 percent of the vote.2Politico. George Santos New York Rosenthal Zimmerman Democrats He had lost an earlier run for the same seat in 2020.3History, Art & Archives, U.S. House of Representatives. Santos, George
The Lies That Unraveled His Biography
Days after Santos won, the New York Times reported that most of the résumé he had campaigned on could not be verified.4The New York Times. George Santos NY Republicans Within weeks, Santos himself admitted to much of it.
He had claimed a degree from Baruch College and study at New York University. Baruch had no record of him, and Santos conceded he never graduated from any college. He had described himself as a “seasoned Wall Street financier” who worked at Citigroup and Goldman Sachs; both firms said he had never been an employee, and Santos later said he “never worked directly” for either, calling it a “poor choice of words.” He had claimed his maternal grandparents fled Ukraine during World War II and survived the Holocaust; confronted, he recharacterized himself as “Jew-ish” and acknowledged being Catholic. He had claimed to own 13 rental properties and admitted he owned none.5New York Post. Rep-Elect George Santos Admits Fabricating Key Details of His Bio
He also said he ran an animal rescue called “Friends of Pets United” that had saved more than 2,500 animals; the IRS had no record of it as a registered tax-exempt organization, and the beneficiary of a 2017 fundraiser said no proceeds ever arrived. Although he campaigned as the first openly gay non-incumbent Republican elected to Congress, he did not disclose a prior five-year marriage to a woman that ended in divorce in 2019.6Time. George Santos Lies Resume
Documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act also contradicted Santos’s story that his mother, Brazilian immigrant Fatima Devolder, was in New York City during the September 11, 2001, attacks. In a February 2003 green card replacement application, she signed a statement that she had not been in the United States since June 1999.7ABC7 New York. George Santos Resignation: Republicans Call for Santos to Resign
The Federal Criminal Case
On May 10, 2023, a 13-count federal indictment was unsealed against Santos in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The initial charges included wire fraud, unlawful monetary transactions, theft of public money tied to pandemic-era unemployment benefits, and false statements on House financial disclosure forms.8PBS NewsHour. What’s in the 13-Count Federal Indictment New York Rep. George Santos Faces
A superseding indictment in October 2023 expanded the case to 23 counts, adding conspiracy, additional wire fraud, falsification of records to the FEC, aggravated identity theft, and access device fraud. Prosecutors described two main schemes. In the first, Santos and his campaign treasurer submitted false FEC reports claiming at least 10 family members had made significant contributions when they had not, and he falsely reported loaning his campaign $500,000 he did not have. In the second, Santos stole the financial information of campaign contributors and charged their credit cards without authorization between December 2021 and August 2022, routing money into his campaign, other candidates’ campaigns, and his personal bank account. Prosecutors said he attempted at least $44,800 in unauthorized charges on a single contributor’s cards.9U.S. Department of Justice. Congressman George Santos Charged Campaign Finance Fraud Scheme
Expulsion From the House
While the criminal case moved forward, the House Ethics Committee ran a parallel investigation. Its November 2023 report concluded that Santos “sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit” and that his conduct was “beneath the dignity of the office.” Investigators found campaign funds spent on roughly $1,500 at a Botox provider, $4,127 at Hermès, and charges at OnlyFans and Sephora, along with luxury hotels, Ubers, meals, and Airbnb rentals. They also found “substantial evidence” that about $800,000 in personal loans Santos reported to his campaign and leadership PAC were never actually made, and that he used donor money to “reimburse” himself for those fictitious loans.10CNN. Takeaways Santos Report
On December 1, 2023, the House voted 311 to 114 to expel him.11Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives. Roll Call 691, 118th Congress, 1st Session He became only the sixth member in the chamber’s history to be removed by colleagues, and the first expelled without first being convicted of a crime; three earlier expulsions came during the Civil War for disloyalty to the Union and two followed federal criminal convictions.12PBS NewsHour. Rep. George Santos Expelled From House in a Bipartisan Vote Democrat Tom Suozzi won the February 13, 2024, special election to fill the seat.13PBS NewsHour. Live Results New York Special Election to Replace George Santos
Guilty Plea and 87-Month Sentence
On August 19, 2024, Santos pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft before U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert. In court, he admitted to falsely listing family members as donors, charging contributors’ credit cards without authorization, convincing donors to give under the false pretense that the money would fund television ads, stealing pandemic-era unemployment benefits, and overstating his income and assets on a House financial disclosure form.14Courthouse News Service. George Santos Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud Identity Theft His plea agreement called for $373,749.97 in restitution and $205,002.97 in forfeiture; his attorney acknowledged at the hearing that Santos did not have the money.15ABC7 New York. George Santos Due Federal Court Expected Plead Guilty Fraud Case Long Island
On April 25, 2025, Judge Seybert sentenced him to 87 months in federal prison.16U.S. Department of Justice. Ex-Congressman George Santos Sentenced 87 Months Prison Wire Fraud and Aggravated He surrendered on July 25, 2025, and began serving his term at the Federal Correctional Institution in Fairton, New Jersey.17CNN. George Santos Sentencing Fraud
Prison and Trump’s Commutation
Santos was at FCI Fairton for about a month before officials placed him in solitary confinement in late August 2025 following a reported death threat that drew an FBI inquiry. In a handwritten letter, he described the special housing unit as “hell on earth,” citing a 15-by-17-foot cell, no ventilation, and drinking water drawn from the top of a toilet.18The Seattle Times. George Santos in Solitary Confinement After Alleged Death Threat He repeatedly appealed to President Trump for clemency, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene formally urged the White House to act, calling the sentence a “grave injustice.”19CNN. George Santos Sentence Commuted
On October 17, 2025, Trump signed an order commuting Santos’s sentence to time served and releasing him immediately, calling the punishment “excessive given the nature of his financial crimes” and citing Santos’s reports of mistreatment in prison.1The New York Times. Trump George Santos Sentence Commute The clemency order said there would be “no further fines, restitution, probation, supervised release, or other conditions.”20The Hill. George Santos Trump Clemency Fines Restitution The commutation did not erase his underlying convictions.21BBC. George Santos Released From Prison
Where Santos Is Now
Two days after his release, Santos appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union,” said he felt “humbled” by his time in prison, and apologized to his former constituents. Asked whether he would repay the people he defrauded, he said he would pay donors back only “if it’s required of me by the law.” He also returned to Cameo, where he had previously sold personalized videos.22Fox Carolina. George Santos Makes First Public Comments After Being Released From Prison
In a December 2025 interview with the Washington Blade, Santos said, “I made so many poor choices” and “I was very dishonest with the GOP.” He said he had no interest in returning to politics or seeking a government position and described his incarceration as “punitive and dehumanizing,” saying he wanted to advocate for prison reform.23Los Angeles Blade. George Santos Interview