CENTRAL ISLIP, NY — Federal prosecutors are recommending a prison sentence of 87 months, or just over seven years, for former Rep. George Santos, whose political career collapsed after it was revealed that much of his background was fabricated.
In a court filing on Friday, prosecutors from the Eastern District of New York called for the lengthy sentence, citing the “seriousness of his unparalleled crimes.” Santos, who represented New York as a Republican congressman, was charged in 2023 with 23 felony counts, including wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. He pleaded guilty to two of those charges in August 2024, after being expelled from the House of Representatives, and admitted to a series of falsehoods that misled voters, donors, and the public.
Santos, 36, is scheduled to be sentenced on April 25. Although sentencing guidelines suggest a prison term of approximately six to seven years, the final decision will be left to the judge.
Prosecutors outlined Santos’s extensive dishonesty in their filing, pointing to his inflated fundraising numbers, stealing from donors, and fabricating aspects of his personal and professional history. “Santos lied to his campaign staff, his supporters, his employer, congressional colleagues, and the American public,” prosecutors wrote. “His conduct has undermined the integrity of the electoral system.”
In a separate filing, Santos’s defense attorneys requested a more lenient sentence of two years in prison, the minimum allowable term for aggravated identity theft, followed by probation. The filing also noted that Santos has expressed remorse for his actions and agreed to pay nearly $375,000 in restitution to victims.
Last year, a key figure tied to Santos’s political activities, Thomas Datwyler, was revealed by journalists to be in connection with a wider web of political donations and nonprofit operations. Datwyler, who allegedly served as the “shadow treasurer” for Santos, is also the principal officer of Conservative Policy Solutions, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit. This group is the sister organization to Conservative Policy Action, the Super PAC that played a major role in promoting Kris Warner’s bid for Secretary of State in West Virginia. Datwyler’s non-profit donated $96,500, and was the largest sole contribution to an entity supporting Warner as a candidate for Secretary of State.
Warner’s campaign was mired in controversy after it was revealed that Conservative Policy Action had received substantial funding from recipients of subsidies from the West Virginia Economic Development Authority, which Warner had previously led as executive director. The source of the initial donation received by Conservative Policy Solutions to then contribute to the Warner-aligned Super PAC is also questionable at best. The connections between Datwyler, Santos, and these political groups have raised questions about the flow of money and influence, linking the scandal to West Virginia voters and highlighting a broader network of political ties likely under investigation.
