The verdict behind the bar for more than seven years was requested by the Department of Justice.
Former Congressman George Santos (RN.Y.) was sentenced in federal prison for more than seven years on April 25th on wire fraud and identity theft.
Barr’s 87-month sentence was requested by the Department of Justice.
He was also ordered to pay nearly $374,000 each.
Santos, who was indicted in 2023, faced at least two years and up to 22 years behind the bar.
Santos pleaded guilty to committing a wire fraud in August to aggravate identity theft.
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“I betrayed the trust of my members and supporters. I deeply regret my actions,” he said he pleaded guilty.
Following the hearing, Santos said he felt he had no option to admit fraud.
“Sueing a guilty guilty is a step I’ve never imagined, but it’s something that’s right, so it’s necessary,” Santos told reporters. “It’s not only a perception of my misrepresentation to others, but also a deeper understanding of the lies I have told myself to the past few years.”
While running for Congress, Santos submitted a false report to the Federal Election Commission, which consists of inflated campaign funding numbers, in order to qualify for funding and logistics support from the Republican National Committee. His campaign mistakenly reported that Santos had loaned the campaign $500,000.
Additionally, Santos charged campaign donor credit cards without permission.
He also ingested $24,000 in unemployment insurance during the Covid-19 pandemic despite being employed.
Additionally, Santos made false statements to the House of Representatives, including how much he had in his assets.
The report also stated that Santos “continuing to downplay its statutory financial disclosure obligations and failed to correct countless errors and omissions in past FD statements despite repeated reminders of the ISC and his requirements.”
Santos initially submitted to run as an independent to regain his seat in the 2024 election, but canceled his campaign.
Even before he entered the Congress, Santos was the subject of controversy, admitting allegations about him manufacturing parts of his personal and professional life. This included him claiming he was Jewish.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
