George Santos, a disgraced former US representative, was sentenced to seven years and three months in prison Friday by US Federal District Court Judge Joanna Seybert.

Santos, a 36-year-old Republican from Long Island, New York, faced up to 22 years behind bars on charges of wire fraud and identity theft.

The former congressman wept as his sentence was handed down, pleading for mercy, claiming, "I offer my deepest apologies," and adding, "I cannot rewrite the past, but I can control the road ahead."

Judge Seybert, however, retorted, "Where is your remorse? Where do I see it?" as she sentenced him at the US Federal District Court in Central Islip, New York.

Santos had originally been scheduled to go on trial in September but opted to plead guilty to wire fraud and identity theft rather than face a raft of more than 20 further charges.

The fabulous Mr. Santos — catch me if you can 

"He admitted to engaging in a brazen crime spree that took place over a period of years. He stole personal identities and financial information from campaign contributors, made unauthorized transfers of money to his campaign, and to himself personally," argued lead prosecutor John Durham.

"He went so far as to seek out elderly people with cognitive impairment and dementia," Durham added.

Prosecutors said Santos had yet to pay any of the $370,000 (€325,000) he was ordered to hand over as restitution in August 2024.

Despite having pleaded guilty, prosecutors said Santos had shown no signs of remorse as seen by statements he made on social media attempting to paint himself as the victim of prosecutorial overreach.

"As of this writing, despite years of actively courting media attention and capitalizing on his infamy, Santos has forfeited nothing of his ill-gotten gains and has not repaid one cent to any of the victims of his financial crimes," prosecutors said.

Defense attorney Andrew Mancilla argued that Santos' crimes were ultimately the result of his "broken" home life and having been bullied as a child.

Mancilla said that as a result of that adversity, Santos "built the man he wanted to be, not who he was. Deep down, he is warm, kind, caring and thoughtful."

Reality ultimately caught up with Santos and his fellow Republicans

Santos was elected to the US House of Representatives in 2022 but soon ran into trouble when it became apparent that he had lied about almost every aspect of his life — his education, his work history, and even his religion.

In wooing voters, Santos claimed that he had attended elite prep schools and colleges, had captained a college volleyball team, had worked as a successful investment banker at Goldman Sachs and even that he was Jewish — going so far as to make the outrageous claim that his grandparents had been Holocaust survivors.

In reality, he had attended no such schools, held no such jobs and, in fact, faced eviction and was mired in financial trouble.

US Attorney John Durham said, "From the moment he declared his candidacy for Congress, Santos leveraged his campaign for his own enrichment and financial benefit." 

Despite such revelations, Republicans allowed Santos to be sworn in as a member of Congress but ultimately congressional and criminal investigations showed that he had deceived donors and stolen the identities of nearly a dozen people, including family members, to finance his campaign and bankroll a lavish lifestyle — using the funds to purchase Botox treatments, buy designer clothing and embark on fancy vacations.

In 2023, when ethics investigators found overwhelming evidence Santos had endeavored to "fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy," he became only the third person to be expelled from Congress since the US Civil War.

In February 2024, voters in his district elected Democrat Tom Suozzi to replace him in a special election.

Will Donald Trump add Santos to long list of fraud pardons?

Santos, who refused to answer reporters' questions as he left the courthouse with his lawyers, has previously said he would not seek a pardon from US President Donald Trump.

Trump, who was also found guilty on 34 fraud-related counts of in May 2024, has pardoned numerous convicted fraudsters since returning to office, most recently doing so on Thursday, when he pardoned Nevada Republican Michele Fiore, who was convicted of using funds donated to honor a slain police officer for, among other things, plastic surgery.

Before his trial, Santos told the Associated Press news agency that he was prepared to accept his fate, saying he was "ready to face the music."

George Santos is due to report to prison on July 25.

Edited by: Sean Sinico