George Santos

George Santos
Born	George Anthony Devolder Santos 22 7, 1988
Nationality	American
Occupation	Former politician
Known for	Serving as U.S. Representative for New York's 3rd congressional district (2023); expulsion from Congress; criminal conviction for wire fraud and identity theft

George Anthony Devolder Santos (born July 22, 1988) is an American former politician and convicted felon who served as the U.S. representative for New York's 3rd congressional district from January to December 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Santos won election to Congress in 2022, defeating Democrat Robert Zimmerman and becoming the first openly LGBTQ Republican elected to Congress as a freshman. Within weeks of his election, however, journalists uncovered that Santos had fabricated much of his personal biography, including claims about his education and employment history. Despite mounting calls for his resignation from members of both parties, Santos was sworn in and served for nearly a year before the United States House of Representatives voted 311–114 to expel him on December 1, 2023. He was the first member of Congress expelled without having previously been convicted of a crime or having supported the Confederacy, and the first Republican ever expelled from the House. Following a federal indictment, Santos pleaded guilty to identity theft and wire fraud in August 2024 and was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison in April 2025. In October 2025, President Donald Trump commuted Santos's sentence, making him eligible for immediate release.

Early Life

George Anthony Devolder Santos was born on July 22, 1988. During his political career, Santos claimed to have been born in New York City, though many details of his early biography became subjects of scrutiny after his election to Congress. Santos is of Brazilian descent. His personal history became one of the most contentious aspects of his political career, as multiple claims he made about his background were later found to be fabricated or misleading.

Santos had a criminal record in Brazil, where he was charged with felony check fraud. This criminal history was not disclosed during his campaigns for Congress.

Much of what Santos publicly stated about his early life—including claims about his family's heritage and his personal experiences—was later called into question by investigative journalists following his 2022 election. Santos at various times made claims about his family's connection to the Holocaust and his mother's presence at the World Trade Center during the September 11 attacks, assertions that could not be substantiated. The extent of the fabrications in Santos's personal biography was unusual in American politics and became a defining element of his public identity.

Career

Early Political Career and 2020 Campaign

Santos entered Republican politics and first ran for New York's 3rd congressional district seat in 2020. He challenged the incumbent Democratic representative Tom Suozzi but was defeated in that election. During the campaign, Santos presented a biography that included claims about his educational credentials and professional accomplishments at prominent financial firms.

2022 Election

After Suozzi opted not to seek re-election in 2022 in order to run for governor of New York, Santos ran again for the 3rd congressional district seat. He defeated Democrat Robert Zimmerman in the November 2022 general election. Santos's victory made him the first openly LGBTQ Republican elected to Congress as a freshman. His campaign biography included claims of having graduated from Baruch College and New York University, and of having worked at prominent financial institutions including Citigroup and Goldman Sachs.

Fabrication Revelations

Within weeks of Santos's election, The New York Times and other news outlets reported that significant portions of his biography appeared to be fabricated. Investigations revealed that there were no records of Santos having attended or graduated from the universities he claimed, and neither Citigroup nor Goldman Sachs had records of his employment. Santos subsequently admitted to having lied about his educational background and work history.

Beyond education and employment, reporters found inconsistencies in Santos's disclosures about his business activities, income, and personal wealth. His financial disclosure forms raised questions about the source of a $700,000 personal loan he made to his own campaign. Santos had also not disclosed the existence of criminal charges he faced in Brazil or civil lawsuits filed against him in the United States. Claims Santos made about his heritage, including assertions of Jewish and Ukrainian ancestry, were also called into question.

Congressional Tenure

Despite the revelations and widespread calls for his resignation from members of both the Democratic and Republican parties, Santos was sworn in as a member of the 118th United States Congress on January 3, 2023. He served on the House committees but operated under a cloud of controversy throughout his brief tenure.

During his time in Congress, Santos introduced legislation including the SALT Relief Act, which addressed the cap on state and local tax deductions. However, his legislative work was largely overshadowed by the ongoing investigations and ethics inquiries into his conduct.

Santos faced multiple efforts to remove him from office. Initial expulsion resolutions failed to gain sufficient support, with some members arguing that Santos had not yet been convicted of a crime and that expulsion prior to conviction would set a problematic precedent. The House Ethics Committee launched a formal investigation into Santos's conduct.

Federal Indictment

In May 2023, a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of New York indicted Santos on multiple charges, including wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds, and making false statements to the House of Representatives. A superseding indictment later added additional charges, including allegations that Santos had stolen the identities of campaign donors and used their credit card information to make unauthorized charges. The indictment alleged that Santos had used campaign funds for personal expenses, including luxury goods and personal financial obligations.

Expulsion from Congress

The House Ethics Committee released a detailed report in November 2023 finding substantial evidence that Santos had violated federal criminal laws and House rules. The report documented evidence of fraudulent campaign finance activity, misuse of campaign funds for personal purposes, and Santos's pattern of deception.

On December 1, 2023, the House of Representatives voted 311–114 to expel Santos from Congress. The vote exceeded the two-thirds majority required for expulsion. Santos was the sixth member of the House of Representatives to be expelled in the institution's history, the first Republican to be expelled, and the first member expelled without having previously been convicted of a crime or having supported the Confederacy during the American Civil War. His predecessor and successor in the seat was Tom Suozzi, who won a February 2024 special election to fill the vacancy created by Santos's expulsion.

Criminal Conviction and Sentencing

In August 2024, Santos pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. The charges stemmed from schemes in which Santos stole the identities of donors to his campaign and used their personal information to make unauthorized financial transactions. Among the victims were members of Santos's own family.

On April 25, 2025, United States District Judge Joanna Seybert sentenced Santos to 87 months (approximately seven years and three months) in federal prison at the federal courthouse in Central Islip, New York. Santos began serving his sentence in July 2025. During his incarceration, Santos was at one point held in solitary confinement at a federal facility in New Jersey.

Presidential Commutation

On October 17, 2025, President Donald Trump announced that he had commuted Santos's prison sentence, making the former congressman eligible for immediate release. Trump's announcement came approximately three months into Santos's incarceration. The commutation did not constitute a pardon and did not erase Santos's criminal conviction, but it ended his prison term. The BBC reported Trump's message to Santos as telling him to "have a great life."

Post-Congressional Activities

Following his expulsion from Congress in December 2023, Santos pursued several ventures in media and entertainment. He began selling personalized video messages through the platform Cameo, reportedly earning substantial income from the service. Fortune reported that Santos's Cameo earnings exceeded his former congressional salary. Senator John Fetterman was among those who purchased Cameo videos from Santos.

Santos's Cameo videos became the subject of a legal dispute with late-night television host Jimmy Kimmel, who had purchased videos from Santos under false pretenses and aired them on his show Jimmy Kimmel Live!. Santos filed a copyright lawsuit against Kimmel, alleging unauthorized use of his videos. A federal judge subsequently dismissed the lawsuit.

Santos also performed as a drag queen using the name "Kitara Ravache," an identity he had previously denied during his congressional campaign. After his expulsion, he appeared publicly in drag.

In 2024, Santos announced he was joining the platform OnlyFans.

Following his release from prison after the presidential commutation, Santos continued to seek public attention. He announced plans to launch a podcast, with The New York Times reporting on a launch party for the venture in December 2024. In early 2026, Santos announced plans to travel to Venezuela, claiming he intended to assist with humanitarian aid efforts. Santos was also spotted attending New York Fashion Week in February 2026.

Personal Life

Santos identified as openly gay during his congressional campaign and tenure, making him the first openly LGBTQ Republican elected to Congress as a non-incumbent. However, like many other aspects of his biography, details of his personal life were subjects of scrutiny. Santos had previously been married to a woman before publicly identifying as gay.

Santos's criminal convictions included offenses in both Brazil (felony check fraud) and the United States (wire fraud and aggravated identity theft). The federal charges in the United States stemmed in part from Santos's use of the identities of family members and campaign donors for fraudulent financial transactions.

After his release from prison following President Trump's commutation of his sentence, Santos maintained a public profile through social media and various media appearances. The Times of London published a profile of Santos in early 2026 discussing his life after prison and his relationship with convicted fraudster Anna Delvey.

Recognition

Santos's tenure in Congress and subsequent criminal case attracted significant media attention and public scrutiny, though not in the form of traditional honors or awards. His case became one of the most prominent examples of biographical fabrication by an elected official in modern American political history.

The House Ethics Committee's investigation and report on Santos represented one of the most thorough congressional ethics investigations in recent history. The committee's findings played a central role in the bipartisan vote to expel him, a measure that had been used only five times previously in the history of the House of Representatives.

Santos's criminal sentencing to 87 months in prison was among the more severe sentences imposed on a former member of Congress for corruption-related offenses in recent decades. The subsequent commutation by President Trump generated significant media coverage and public debate about the use of presidential clemency powers.

Legacy

George Santos's brief congressional career and its aftermath left a mark on American political discourse concerning candidate vetting, campaign transparency, and congressional accountability. His case highlighted gaps in the systems used to verify claims made by candidates for federal office, as none of his fabricated biographical claims were uncovered by opposition research, media scrutiny, or party vetting processes prior to his election.

The December 2023 expulsion vote established a precedent as the first time the House of Representatives expelled a member who had not been convicted of a crime at the time of the vote (Santos's conviction came in August 2024, eight months after his expulsion). The bipartisan nature of the vote—311 members in favor, including 105 Republicans—reflected the unusual degree of consensus that Santos's conduct warranted removal.

Santos's case also raised questions about campaign finance enforcement and the ability of candidates to misrepresent their financial backgrounds on disclosure forms. The federal charges against him included schemes to defraud donors and misuse campaign funds, offenses that were not detected during the campaign cycle.

In the broader cultural sphere, Santos became a notable figure in media and entertainment following his expulsion, leveraging his notoriety through platforms such as Cameo and OnlyFans. His post-congressional career illustrated the capacity of public infamy to be converted into commercial activity in the modern media landscape.

The commutation of Santos's sentence by President Trump in October 2025 added another dimension to the case, generating debate about executive clemency and its application to individuals convicted of defrauding the political process.