Former deputy, son of Brazilians, he was convicted of fraud, identity theft and misuse of campaign funds
Former American deputy George Santos, son of Brazilian immigrants, began to comply with this Friday (25.Jul.2025), after surrendering at a federal prison in Fairton, New Jersey. The information was confirmed by BBC.
At 37, Santos is serving time for more than crimes such as electronic fraud, identity theft, money laundering and false statements to the US Electoral Justice. He was also ordered to pay at least $ 374,000 in refund.
Before you surrender, the former deputy a message: “I may be leaving the stage (for now), but believe me, legends never really come out.”
Even after the sentence, Santos continued active on social networks. He spent the week until his arrest day.
Santos was elected to the US Congress in 2022, but early in his term reported that he had falsified information about his academic background and professional experience.
In May 2023, he was formally accused of 13 crimes, including campaign collection frauds and falsehood in financial statements.
In December 2023, he became the 1st US deputy to be expelled from the House in more than 20 years. In all, it faced 23 federal criminal accusations.
Fraud scheme
The criminal scheme of Deputy George Santos and Nancy Marks-EX-Treasury of the deputy-involved obtaining electoral funding from FEC (Federal Electoral Commission). To become eligible to the system, the candidate should have at least $ 250,000 in taxpayers.
Santos noted that 11 family members had contributed to their campaign. In addition to not donating money, such relatives did not authorize the use of identities in the FEC system.
According to the Department of Justice, another crime committed by George Santos was lying about a $ 500,000 loan for the campaign. The former consisting, in fact, had not even $ 8,000 in his account at the time he recorded such a value.
“With the execution of this plan, Santos and Marks assured Santos reaching the financial criteria necessary to qualify for the program administered by the National Party Committee. As a result of the qualification for the program, the campaign for Congress received significant financial support.”said the US department.
In addition to taxpayer theft, Santos also laundered money. The scheme involved a façade company that received $ 50,000 in donations from 2 supporters, who believed the money would be used to finance the candidate’s campaign.
When the money was deposited in the company’s account, Santos transferred him to his account, and used the amount to personal spending.