Embarrassing former congressman George Santos asked a judge on Friday to postpone his sentence federal fraud case.
Santos will be sentenced on February 7 in Central Islip, New York to plead guilty to federal fraud, campaign finance and embezzlement charges.
His attorneys asked the judge to delay sentencing for six months, until August, to give Santos more time to earn money so he can deal with the nearly $600,000 he owes in restitution and forfeiture, according to a new court filing.
“Mr. Santos now has a viable path to make meaningful progress toward meeting his obligations,” his attorneys said in a motion filed Friday, citing the launch of a new podcast, “Pants on Fire with George Santos.”
Federal prosecutors did not immediately respond, though the defense said the government opposes a delay.
In this Aug. 19, 2024, file photo, George Santos, expelled from the U.S. House of Representatives, arrives for his corruption trial at the Central Islip Federal Courthouse in New York.
Shannon Stapleton/Reuters, FILE
The former New York representative pleaded guilty in August to claiming that family members had contributed to his campaign when, in fact, they had not. Santos admitted that he was trying to meet the fundraising threshold to receive a grant from the National Republican Congress Committee.
He told reporters at the time that the guilty plea was “the right thing to do.”
“This plea is not just an admission of guilt,” Santos said. “It’s a recognition that I must be held accountable like any other American who breaks the law.”
It determined that Santos also committed other frauds, including charging donors’ credit cards without authorization and convincing donors to donate money by falsely stating that the money would be used for television commercials. He also determined that he had stolen public money by applying for and receiving unemployment benefits during the pandemic to which he was not entitled.
In his statement to the court, Santos admitted that his actions had “betrayed” his constituents and others.
He faces a sentence of 75-87 months, including a two-year mandatory minimum sentence for aggravated identity theft.
He also must pay nearly $374,000 in restitution and more than $200,000 in forfeiture.
Santos’ lawyers filed on August 19 that in the final moments of the case, the former congressman will not be able to pay more than $200,000 in restitution.
He must pay restitution 30 days before sentencing on February 7 and face additional penalties if he fails to pay on time.
Santos represented New York’s 3rd Congressional District, which includes parts of Queens and Nassau counties, beginning in January 2023, before being expelled from Congress on December 1, 2023.
