Former U.S. Rep. George Santos arrives for a court hearing at U.S. District Court Eastern District of New York Long Island Courthouse on August 19, 2024 in West Islip, New York. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Federal prosecutors are questioning expelled U.S. Rep. George Santos’ claims that the admitted felon and notorious liar needs more time to pay over a half million dollars of restitution and forfeiture.
The disgraced Republican ex-congressman, who pleaded guilty at Central Islip federal court to wire fraud and identity theft and was originally scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 7, asked U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert for a six-month extension so he has until August to pay using proceeds from his new weekly podcast, Pants on Fire with George Santos. He wrote in a letter that the podcast offers “a promising revenue stream.” Prosecutors objected, arguing that Santos has not made any payments since he changed his plea — despite the fact that he previously earned $400,000 in Cameo appearances and another $400,000 from appearing in a documentary.
“Santos’ claim that his financial circumstances will have improved enough in the next six months to satisfy his forfeiture and restitution obligations is extremely speculative,” prosecutors wrote in their objection. “His letter fails to provide any accounting of his current financial condition; fails to offer any explanation of his dissipation of assets (including personal spending) in the months since his guilty plea; and omits any meaningful description of his extant arrangement with YW Productions,” which is producing the podcast that launched a month ago.
Santos, who briefly represented New York State’s 3rd congressional district on the North Shore of Nassau County and northeastern Queens, made history as one of the biggest liars ever elected to Congress after he was found to have fabricated much of his life story. He was later indicted on a host of federal crimes, some of which were dropped in exchange for his plea, and became the sixth congressman ever expelled from office. He was ordered to pay $578,752.94 — $373,749.97 in restitution and $205,002.97 in forfeiture.
“I am dedicated to making amends for the wrongs I have committed,” Santos told reporters outside of the courthouse in August. “This plea is not just an admission of guilt. It’s an acknowledgment I need to be held accountable like any other American that breaks the law.”
Seybert acknowledged that Santos has yet to follow through on his promise to pay when she partially granted the request — giving him a two 1/2-month adjournment instead of the six months he had requested.
“Since the date that the defendant entered his plea of guilty, he has not made any payments toward the amount owed nor has he indicated that he has funds to do so, despite his promises and predictions,” the judge wrote in her order on Jan. 8. “As a one-time courtesy, this court will grant a short adjournment on the basis that the ends of justice will be served by this continuance.”
Santos will now learn his fate on April 25. He faces at least two years and up to seven years in federal prison. Prosecutors maintain that if Santos’ promises to pay go the way of his debunked claims that his grandparents fled the Holocaust, mother died in connection with the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, or that his employees died in the Pulse nightclub terrorist attack, authorities will still be able to seize his assets to ensure his financial obligations are met.
Prosecutors also raised concerns about the message that the delay sends in this case. Breon Peace, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York who resigned Jan. 10, wrote in his objection: “Allowing Santos to stave off sentencing specifically to monetize his infamy would send a message to the public that crime pays.”
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