Disgraced gay ex-congressman George Santos bids farewell as he starts seven-year prison sentence

Disgraced former congressman George Santos has said farewell to his diminishing list of fans a day before he is set to go to prison for over seven years.

The 37-year-old former New York Republican bid farewell to his “messy” political career in a social media post the day before he is set to serve 87 months in jail for wire fraud and identity theft.

“Well, darlings… The curtain falls, the spotlight dims, and the rhinestones are packed,” he said in the post. “From the halls of Congress to the chaos of cable news, what a ride it’s been!”

Santos continued by claiming that his career had been “glamorous.” The former congressman, who lied about many of his credentials to get into office, including that he was a Wall Street alumnus and that his mother died during 9/11, further claimed he had tried to be honest “most days.”

Well, darlings…
The curtain falls, the spotlight dims, and the rhinestones are packed.

From the halls of Congress to the chaos of cable news what a ride it’s been! Was it messy? Always. Glamorous? Occasionally. Honest? I tried… most days.

To my supporters: You made this wild… pic.twitter.com/BKhoMJnTtm

— George Santos (@MrSantosNY) July 24, 2025

“To my supporters: You made this wild political cabaret worth it,” he continued. “To my critics: Thanks for the free press.

“I may be leaving the stage (for now), but trust me legends never truly exit. Forever fabulously yours, George.”

After becoming the first out gay politician to be expelled from US Congress in December 2023, Santos pleaded guilty to 23 federal felony crimes, including aggravated identity theft and wire fraud.

US district judge Joanna Seybert sentenced Santos to seven years and two months in jail in April and ordered him to pay a combined $578,753 (£430,184.21) in restitution fees to his victims.

Speaking immediately after sentencing, US attorney John Durham said Santos had finally been held accountable for the “mountain of lies, theft, and fraud he perpetrated.”

George Santos is set to surrender on Friday (25 July) to face his more than seven-year prison sentence. Santos told his followers prior to sentencing that he plans to request solitary confinement while in jail.

What did George Santos do?

Charges against the 37-year-old include getting a vendor to forge a Baruch College diploma, presenting false financial documents to Congress to deceive them into giving him financial support, faking donations, and creating fake nonprofits to solicit donations.

Most infamously, Santos also ran a credit card fraud scheme in which he stole the identities and financial information of his campaign donors, charging thousands of dollars to his campaign and his own bank account without their knowledge.

One instance saw the disgraced politician charge $12,000 to a donor’s credit card, which eventually made it to his personal account.

Also, in 2022, before Santos had even been sworn in, the New York Republican was accused of lying about much of his past to get into office.

Accusations included claims that he had never graduated from any university or college, despite saying he had done so, and claims that he had lied about his employment and family history.

Before becoming the first out gay Republican in US Congress, Santos had even claimed his mother died in the 11 September 2001 World Trade Centre attacks. In reality, his mother had died in 2016 due to a variety of complications, none of which were related to the terror attacks.

Eventually, in December 2023, Santos became the first US congressman to be expelled in over two decades after a 311 to 114 vote approved a motion to eject him for multiple ethics violations and criminal charges.

In handing down his sentence, judge Seybert said Santos had been elected “with your words, most of which were lies.”

Prior to sentencing, Santos told the New York Times that he would not ask president Trump for a pardon, saying that “if the president thinks I’m worthy of any level of clemency that is bestowed upon him, he can go ahead and do it, but for me to seek a pardon is to deny accountability and responsibility.”

Later, when asked during a podcast spot whether he would request a pardon if he were to be sentenced to years in prison, he said: “You bet your sweet a** I would.”