<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Disgraced former </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world" rel="" target="_blank" title="US Representative"><span>US Representative</span></a><span> George Santos has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison, sobbing as he learned his punishment for the crimes that led to his expulsion from Congress.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Santos, who pleaded guilty last summer to federal wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, appealed for mercy. In a federal court a short drive from his old congressional district, he said through tears that he was "humbled" and "chastised" and realised he had betrayed his constituents' trust.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span> "I offer my deepest apologies," he said, adding: "I cannot rewrite the past, but I can control the road ahead."</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/missing-sausage-dog-valerie-found-after-529-days/e955dddc-d13d-4d86-a798-27e027a5a8dc"><strong><span>Missing sausage dog Valerie found after 529 days at large</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>US District Court Judge Joanna Seybert evidently wasn't convinced.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Where is your remorse? Where do I see it?" she asked as she sentenced him to 87 months behind bars. "It's always someone else's fault."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The New York Republican served in Congress less than a year before becoming just the sixth member of the House to be ousted by colleagues.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/george-santos-disgraced-excongressman-sobs-as-he-is-jailed-for-more-than-seven-years/94d6028e-7f19-45c8-a716-9d98b0a356dc" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Santos admitted to deceiving donors and stealing the identities of nearly a dozen people, including his family members, to fund his winning campaign. His plea deal included agreeing to pay roughly $900,000 ($US580,000) in penalties.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"From the moment he declared his candidacy for Congress, Santos leveraged his campaign for his own enrichment and financial benefit," US Attorney John Durham, whose office prosecuted the case, said outside court.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Santos, 36, is due to report to prison on July 25.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He didn't respond to reporters' shouted questions outside the courthouse, but he had told The Associated Press by text on Thursday that he was "ready to face the music."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Santos' victims included a woman with brain damage and two octogenarian men, prosecutor Ryan Harris told the judge.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Defence lawyer Andrew Mancilla had asked the judge for a sentence of two years, portraying Santos as a troubled figure who grew up in a "broken house" and was subjected to bullying throughout his life.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>As a result, "he built the man he wanted to be, not who he was," Mancilla said. "He did that because he believed that the world would not accept him for who he was."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Deep down, he is warm, kind, caring, and thoughtful," Mancilla said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But, the lawyer said, now "everyone hates George Santos."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Santos was elected in 2022, flipping a wealthy district representing parts of Queens and Long Island for the GOP.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Soon after, it was revealed that the political unknown had fabricated much of his life story, painting himself as a successful business owner who worked at prestigious Wall Street firms and held a valuable real estate portfolio.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In reality, Santos was struggling financially and even faced eviction.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He falsely claimed to have been a volleyball star at a college he never even attended.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He had referred to himself during the campaign as "a proud American Jew," but later acknowledged that he was Catholic and insisted he'd only said he was "Jew-ish" after learning that his maternal family had a Jewish background.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Reporters uncovered that Santos had been accused in Brazil of using stolen cheques to buy clothing, and that he had once been charged in Pennsylvania with using bad cheques to buy puppies from dog breeders.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The revelations led to congressional and criminal inquiries into how he had funded his campaign.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"He told lie after lie until it caught up with him — until we caught up with him and exposed him for what he truly was: an opportunist and a fraud," Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly, a Republican, said outside court. Her office also investigated Santos.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Before winning office, Santos collected unemployment benefits from New York state while actually working for a Florida company. Once in Congress, he cosponsored legislation intended to root out unemployment fraud.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>As his sentencing approached, Santos was reflective and apologetic in social media posts, but at other times seemed to relish his notoriety.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He launched a podcast called "Pants on Fire with George Santos," and earned hundreds of thousands of dollars selling cheerful, personalised video messages on Cameo.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He also leaned into his longtime support of President Donald Trump, praising the new administration while also saying that he wouldn't consider asking for clemency.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>As his sentencing approached, Santos made one final plug for his Cameo account.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Think ahead and of any celebration or event coming up later this year. Book them today," Santos wrote, ending the post with a series of heart emojis.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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